


A Promise Unbroken

by Meaka



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, No pairings yet (they're still kids so that would be gross)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26175460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaka/pseuds/Meaka
Summary: “Find me.” His father fixed him with a steely gaze, “In my next life. Will you try, Erwin? To find me?”
Relationships: Levi & Erwin Smith, Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 46
Kudos: 67





	1. And the embers left from fading fires will duly flame again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [photogiraffe77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/photogiraffe77/gifts).



> “Find me.” His father fixed him with a steely gaze, “In my next life. Will you try, Erwin? To find me?”

“And this is the tree that was planted by the Avatar before me.” The tall figure of Erwin's father placed his hand lovingly on the gnarled trunk of the old tree. “She was a water bender who came to the Southern Air Temple to master air bending.” His father moved his hand in the snake-like motion that allowed him to bend water to his will. “She used her bending to bring the river near the seed, so that until it’s roots had developed it would thrive.”

Erwin looked at where the tree was, then at the river. “The river isn’t close to it anymore.” It must have been twenty metres from the tree.

“It has migrated. Slowly, and with great power and patience, the water has eroded away the bedrock. It will continue to do so, eroding the rocks to sand, and pulling the earth around it all the way down be engulfed by the sea.” His father smiled as he spoke, seemingly still amazed by the fact despite his age and experience. 

Erwin stared at him, disbelievingly. How could something as seemingly feeble and soft as water force rock to yield? The water had been cool and refreshing between his toes when he’d paddled in it only moments before. It certainly didn’t feel strong enough to break rock.

Aged only six, Erwin yet had much to learn about the world, and his father seemed to know it all. Indeed, as the Avatar, perhaps he did. He had lived thousands of previous lives. Knew things no normal man did. Understood impossible things. And yet still, he practiced patience with a little boy who thought that earth bending was the only right way to do things.

“Heat from the sun and friction from the ever-blowing winds also slowly turn rocks into sand, Erwin.”

The wind blew steadily through the wide canyon, sometimes only slightly stronger than a breeze, sometimes so hard that Erwin could feel his eyes watering from the force of it.

His father continued, "Can you hear the air moving? It is heated by the sun and moves continuously through the canyon. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the air down here be still!"

Erwin hummed, wanting to find some point to disagree on, “But earth is still the best, right?”

His father smiled down at him, “There is no ‘best’. One day you will understand.” The man clenched his fist into a tight ball as he spoke, “Earth seems strong; indestructible even. But like all things, it yields to time and perseverance.” The fist melted, his fingers curled and relaxed in unison. “All of the elements are strong _and_ weak in their own way. And likewise, each bender has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. It can take a lifetime to find them within ourselves; and often others can see them more clearly than we ourselves can. Humility is key in becoming the best you can be. We all must learn to listen to what others have to say with different experiences and talents, from all four nations. And these air benders teach that to their students at a young age. I wish the other nations taught it also.”

His brain hurt trying to digest what his father was trying to tell him. The Avatar noticed and laughed at Erwin’s expression, which had screwed up in concentration as he considered what his father had just told him. 

“Now, enough lessons for today, son. Let’s go and say hello at the Temple.”

~~~

They stayed for a month. Erwin had enjoyed playing with the air bending monks and amazing them with his own (admittedly limited) earth bending abilities; but to them, what Erwin could do seemed marvellous. He had attended their lessons at his father’s insistence and had spent much time in meditation and learning about their way of life. At least, he had tried to meditate. It was awfully dull.

Now that they had to leave, Erwin was immensely sad at leaving his friends, but he had to admit he was looking forward to going home and being able to eat meat again. The air nomads were vegan, as they abhorred killing and extended this practice to even the way they chose to farm and eat. Before this trip, Erwin had never heard of anyone who didn’t eat meat. It seemed inconceivable.

Holding his father’s hand, they had flown on a flying bison to a ship that was leaving to head back to the Earth Kingdom. They came infrequently, and if they missed this one, there mightn’t be another for many months.

Once on the ship, they watched as they pulled away from the shore. Erwin wondered if they’d ever be back.

“Are you going to miss your friends?” His father ruffled his hair affectionately as he spoke.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to stay there on my own. I want to be with you and go on more adventures! I want to see the whole world with you Papa!” His blue eyes looked up excitedly at his father’s, so like his own. “Do you think we’ll always go on adventures?”

“Ha, well we’ll certainly try and do lots of travelling, but I think we ought to head home for a while so you can focus on your schooling.”

“But can’t you just teach me?”

“Of course. But sometimes, it’s just nice to be at home. Don’t you agree? Or perhaps I should just go home and you can keep travelling without me. You had better send me letters occasionally though, just so I know you aren’t up to any mischief.”

Erwin grinned at his father’s playfulness, “You know I don’t want to go anywhere without you. We’re best friends. Forever and ever. Right?”

His father chuckled, “Right.”

“And we’ll always be together. Forever and ever.”

His father smiled down at him, a slight tinge of sadness visible on his face. “Well even if I’m not always standing beside you, you know part of me will always be with you.” His father touched his own chest subconsciously as he spoke, and Erwin knew the big hand was touching his half of their shared pendant through his shirt. “You know that even if you can’t see me, I’m part of who you are. And always will be.”

Erwin reached up to touch his own half of the pendant.

The pendant had originally been a gift for Erwin’s sixth birthday. The two of them had been wandering aimlessly through a market in Ba Sing Se on the day, when Erwin had spotted a stall covered with pretty, shiny things.

_“You like these? Well, you may choose one for your birthday.”_

_It had taken him a long while to choose, but finally, Erwin settled on a pendant made from an old Earth Nation coin that was no longer in circulation. He had displayed it proudly, wearing it every day._

_The next week, it was his father’s birthday. Erwin himself had no money and decided he would make his father a gift instead. He was sure he would like that._

_“I want to share my birthday pendant with you.” His small hands had held out his most precious possession as he spoke._

_His father had been delighted. Taking the coin in sturdy fingers, the Avatar snapped the piece of metal in two with his tremendous earth bending control. Now there were two semi-circles, with jagged inward edges where they could be re-joined if they were held together. Making a hole in his, his father had threaded another piece of cord through it, and put it around his own neck._

_Smiling broadly, he embraced Erwin as he chattered away in childish delight, “Now we each have one half, Papa. So when I look at this, I’ll think of you. And when you see yours, you will think of me. So even when I’m not right beside you, you will know that a piece of you is with me, and me with you.”_

From then on, when he held his pendant, Erwin felt close to his father. Sometimes, if he had a nightmare, or his father was away and wasn’t there to hold him, Erwin would touch the broken coin for comfort. It never failed to soothe him.

Looking up at his father on the ship, Erwin reached up to grab his own half in imitation of his hero, but his hands met only flat skin. Frantically, he scrabbled under his collar, searching desperately for his pendant.

It was gone.

Shocked, he looked at his father, who was still fiddling gently with his half while watching the receding shoreline, not noticing Erwin’s distress. For a moment, Erwin considered telling him. He reached out a hand to get his father’s attention.

No.

Withdrawing his hand and holding it up to his own mouth, Erwin tried to stop the tears that were building behind his eyes. He couldn’t tell him. Father would be heartbroken that Erwin had lost it. It could be anywhere; where had he been when he’d last even noticed he’d had it?

Looking back at the rapidly disappearing shoreline, he rubbed away one stray tear, knowing that his most precious possession was lost forever. Father would be so disappointed in him.

~~~

“Mike, kick it over here!”

Mike was two years older than him; at nearly ten years old, he seemed unbelievably cool to Erwin, and he loved playing with the older boy. They were both of a similar stage in their earth bending training, with Erwin having the advantage of having the Avatar as a father. Mike was especially good at moving the really big rocks, but struggled with the finesse involved in bending smaller ones.

They played together every day in the rocky desert beside their oasis village, using their earth bending to invent games and hone their skills. At first, Erwin thought his father would be displeased at using their power for play, but the master of all four elements had encouraged it, claiming that children learned best through play, and not merely rigorous instruction. A wisdom he had tried to impart to the air benders to little avail.

Mike kicked an enormous boulder directly at Erwin’s head. It was far too big for Erwin to break, so Erwin deflected it instead, deftly moving around the boulder as it flew past him and crashed heavily onto the ground.

“Hey, where did you learn that?” the bigger boy asked.

“The air benders.” Erwin looked smugly at him, “They never engage directly head on. Sometimes it’s best to try and move around an obstacle than tackle it head on.”

“Pah, nonsense.” Mike snorted, “The best way to win is to always throw the heaviest thing possible.” And with that, he drove his foot into the ground, causing another massive chunk of rock to lift up and fly towards Erwin.

Erwin dodged again and was just about to retaliate with his own rock, when he heard a scream in the distance.

_“Hide the children!”_

Glancing at each other, Mike whispered, “What’s that?”

They looked towards the village. There seemed to be a lot of movement, and the sound of screaming and shouting increased.

“Should we go back?” Erwin wasn’t sure if they should hide, or see if someone needed assistance. What would his father do?

“Earth benders don’t hide. They fight!” Mike began to run back to their home, and Erwin followed the older boy, sure that as he was older, he would know what to do.

Decision made, the two boys raced back to their village. As they approached, they could see odd metal animals creeping over the ground, with men in shiny metal suits riding them. A plume of smoke billowed from the centre of the town, and suddenly there was a _boom_ , and something exploded, sending a hot acrid wind blew towards them. Erwin managed to deflect some of the sand blasting at them from the force of the explosions from the town.

“I don’t know if I can get any closer.” The sand whipped up around them, blinding them both and preventing their moving forward. Mike stamped his foot, and a wall of rock shot up, completely encasing them both and leaving them sitting in darkness.

“What do we do now?” Erwin whispered.

“I don’t know,”

It was quieter in their shell of rock, but they could still hear the sounds of the pandemonium raging only a kilometre away. Erwin imagined buildings and horses and people on fire. He imagined his father fighting, and people getting hurt. He pressed his hands to his ears to keep out the screaming, crying and the sound of fighting.

Eventually, it started to go quiet.

Mike moved as if to take away the rock around them, but Erwin stopped him.

“Wait, let’s wait a while.”

They waited as long as two terrified boys sitting in the dark were capable of. About two hours later, as the sounds of battle finally died down, they emerged and looked towards their home.

Most of it was destroyed. Fires still raged and Erwin could see people bending sand to try and extinguish the flames.

Fire benders.

They must have been.

But why had they come here?

With a gasp, Erwin realised why the Fire Nation would bother with a small, insignificant earth bending village. They must have come for the Avatar.

Erwin had heard his father talking with the air nomads about how the Fire Lord was becoming over reaching in his ambition. He had heard them speaking about the possibility of war, and ‘collaboration’, whatever that was. War had seemed a somewhat abstract concept, but it excited him. Battle was something glorious, honourable and righteous.

But what lay in front of him now seemed anything but.

Sure that his father would have seen off the attackers, Erwin grabbed Mike’s hand.

“Come on, let’s find my dad. He’ll tell us what happened.”

The boys ran to the town but were stopped on the outskirts by Mike’s father, covered in ash and soot, who ran up to them both and embraced them in his huge arms, lifting them both off the ground.

“Boys!” His voice was choked, perhaps by emotion, perhaps by the acidic smoke coming from the smouldering houses. “You’re both alright. Thank the spirits.”

“I need to find my father,” Erwin started, “I need to-“ he stopped as a look of anguish appeared across Mike’s father’s face. “What?”

“Come with me, Erwin.” Holding both their hands, the man led Mike and Erwin towards a large tarp tent on the far side of the town that hadn’t been there in the morning. Having devoured everything combustible in their wake, the fires from the battle were now left starving and dying. 

“Where are we-?”

“In here. Erwin-,” Mike’s father kneeled down and held his hands tightly, “You must be a brave boy. Your father has been badly hurt protecting the village. He’s done great things today to protect everyone we love. But now he’s hurt and we are doing what we can to make him better, but at the moment things don’t look good. When you see him, he might seem asleep, but talk to him as though he’s awake, OK?”

Although the words were clear, they made no sense to Erwin. His father was the Avatar. He was indestructible. One day when he was old, he would die, of course. That’s what old people did. But the Avatar didn’t get hurt. Not badly. And besides, they both still had more adventures to go on together. They had the whole world yet to see.

In trepidation, Erwin silently entered the dark tent. He gasped. There, surrounded by fading candlelight, his strong, powerful father lay helpless and dying on a mat on the ground. Fresh, hot blood was seeping from a dressing across his abdomen, and his face was pale and sweaty. He looked as if he were in pain. There were bad burns all across his skin, but his face was untouched.

“Can’t he water bend and fix it?” Erwin asked, knowing that water bending could heal wounds.

An old woman who was dabbing a wet cloth across the sweaty forehead shook her head sadly. “He’s too weak, Erwin. Speak to your father. Let him know you are here with him. Don’t be afraid to hold his hand.”

Still in disbelief, Erwin reached out and brushed his fingers against his father’s big hand, “Father? Can you hear me? It’s Erwin. You won’t die, will you? I need you.”

His father’s blue eyes opened. The same eyes he had given Erwin. Their expression changed from pained to glowing with joy on seeing his son. “Ah Erwin, my son. My beloved son.” His voice was rasping, but full of love, “You know, don’t you, just how much I love you?”

“Yes father, I love you too.”

“Ah,” One of his father’s fingers reached up and touched Erwin’s nose gently, “but I love you more.”

“Don’t leave me, father,” he could feel his voice cracking as he spoke. But even as he wished it all away, Erwin knew they didn’t have long left.

“I don’t think I have any choice, Erwin. I’m dying.” He reached a hand up to stroke Erwin’s tear-stained face, “I would do anything – _anything_ to stay and watch you grow to become a man, but alas, I fear my time on Earth is nearly at it’s end.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Erwin’s chest felt constricted, and he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs.

Big, calloused fingers stroked through his hair, “You will never be alone. I will watch over you. I will always be with you, remember? I promised.”

“I’m sorry father,” Erwin gasped the words out through thick tears, “I lost your pendant when we travelled to see the air benders. I don’t know where it is. I’ve lost it, and now I’ll be alone when you’re gone.”

Erwin was surprised to see his father give him a smile, “I had a feeling it had gone missing. I was wondering if you would admit it to me.”

Startled, Erwin looked up into his eyes, “You knew?”

“I’ve seen you without it; I know you would never lose it on purpose. Don’t fret, little one. It’s not your fault. The cord probably just snapped. Here,” With a groan and his strength ebbing away every second, his father reached up and pulled off his own pendant, looping it around Erwin’s neck. “Take this. One day, perhaps you’ll find the other half again. But even if you don’t, know that I am watching over you and will _always_ be with you.” He took Erwin’s small hands gently in his own, kissing them. “Whenever you earth bend, I will be there guiding your hands and feet. When you are on the adventures I know you will have, I will be standing beside you, even though you won’t see me.” He brought a finger up and tapped it over Erwin’s heart. “Every day, I will be closer to you than your own heartbeat.”

“Yes father,” Erwin was sobbing uncontrollably, “I’ll go on our adventures. I’ll go back to the air temple and find my other half again.”

“Find _me_.” His father fixed him with a steely gaze, “In my next life. Will you try, Erwin? To find me?”

Crushing himself against his father, Erwin held him tightly, shooting out a hand to where he could feel his father’s heart beat tapping beneath his ribs. “Yes, yes I’ll find you! I’ll never stop looking until I find you.” He rubbed his face against the warm chest, trying to clear the snot and tears away, “But how do I find you? Where do I look? You’ll be in the Fire Nation.” It was becoming darker inside the tent, the candles around them slowly dying. Ash and soot from his father's burned clothes stuck to the wetness on Erwin's face.

His father’s arms wrapped around him lovingly and he whispered, “No one ever truly knows where the next Avatar will be born. You will know when the time is right. Their light will shine brightly for you and you will know you are not mistaken. Don’t be swayed by anyone false, my son. Follow your heart like I taught you to.” Erwin could see that his father was struggling to catch his breath, but continued on, “Now, will you grow up and become a good man? Will you teach the next Avatar everything I’ve taught you? About how to be a good person? About being kind, to have humility and using your talents only for the good of mankind?”

“Yes father, I will. I’ll find you and then we’ll be together again.” Erwin held his father’s hand and sobbed against his chest. “I’ll never stop looking until I find you, I-“

But he stopped talking. Under him, the broad chest had stopped moving, and the strong heart had ceased it’s beating against the small palm of Erwin’s hand.

“He’s gone, Erwin.”

Mike put his arms around Erwin and let him cry against him. He could feel Mike weeping against him, and the two children held each other tightly.

“Take him to our house, Mike.” Mike’s father rubbed Erwin’s back sympathetically. “You will live with us, Erwin.”

~~~~

“The Avatar has been found!” The town herald proclaimed the news loudly to the stunned town, “The Avatar had been found!”

Erwin pushed his way to the front of the murmuring crowd that had gathered around the herald, desperate to know more.

Nearly eight years had passed since the terrible day that the Fire Nation had ruined so many lives. Erwin was fifteen now. The new Avatar would be around seven years old. Far too young to be publicly proclaimed. He remembered his own father telling him that he had been told at sixteen, although the earth bending Masters had known for a decade before. It simply wasn’t right to place a heavy burden on such small shoulders.

“Where are they?” Erwin ran up to the herald. “ _Who_ are they?” In his mind’s eye, he pictured a small Fire Nation boy or girl, with amber eyes and dark hair in a bun on top of their little head.

The Fire Nation were second only to the Earth Nation in size, but they outranked all the other nations in terms of financial stability. Their industry and militarisation made them profoundly wealthy. And profoundly dangerous.

There were no good fire benders. Erwin knew that now. If the Avatar _was_ born a fire bender, if the Avatar _had_ been born in the Fire Nation borders…….they were doomed. The whole world was doomed.

But perhaps if the child lived on the peripheries of the Fire Nation, they could be taken and raised away from the terrible, wrathful fire benders who would want to control them and use the Avatar's fearsome power to burn the rest of the world to ashes..

“The Fire Nation claims they have a boy who has demonstrated the ability to bend all four elements. He is now under the ward-ship of the Fire Lord himself.” The herald continued his announcement to the stunned townsfolk.

The world around him went quiet with this news. Erwin felt his whole body sag, and an itchiness began behind his eyes told him that he wasn’t far off from publicly weeping.

So, his father hadn’t been able to alter the sequence of the cycle. The child had been born in the heart of Fire Nation territory. Erwin felt his promise to his father slip through his fingers. How was he supposed to find and train this child? As the son of the previous Avatar, it would be politically outrageous to simply waltz into the Fire Nation capital and demand independent verification to ensure this child was the Avatar, or to be allowed to train the child.

And they wouldn’t permit it. They would have Earth benders who had defected, who were loyal to the Fire Lord. Erwin wouldn’t get within a hundred miles of the child.

But he had promised him.

Since his father had died, Erwin had felt as if he'd lost a piece of his soul. The loneliness was crushing, and although he tried to close his eyes and sense his own heartbeat, tried desperately to remember his father's promise that he was always right there with Erwin even though he couldn't be seen, Erwin found himself unable to get any sense of the loving presence he so wanted to feel. In that sense too, Erwin felt he'd let the man down.

“They’re sure?” Erwin had dreamed for years of being once again by the side of the Avatar. Of imparting all the wisdom he had from his father. Of being a loving and understanding teacher of earth bending. Of being their friend and confidante. Now, that dream had never felt less possible.

“Absolutely certain,” the herald nodded.

~~~~

“How you've grown, Erwin. You look so like your father when he was seventeen too. What a good man he was. Even if he weren’t the Avatar, I think we’d still have been friends.”

The Supreme Monk looked to be in his fifties, with a shaved head and the customary arrow tattoos of the air benders, a pattern they had adopted from the original air benders, the flying bison. They had instantly embraced on meeting, and now Shadis was looking him up and down in delight.

Keith Shadis had known Erwin’s father well; in fact, he had been one of his air bending teachers and the two had spent considerable time together in their youth. Father often spoke of Shadis’ firm but fair discipline, and Erwin had been pleased to discover the man had progressed to the top of the air bending ranks. He had been eagerly anticipating Erwin’s arrival; the two had been corresponding for years, ever since his father had died. In a strange way, this man felt like a second father, only one he had never met. Erwin was looking forward to hearing his stories about their time together when his father had been young.

He had planned this visit for nearly three years, ever since the hope had faded from Erwin’s heart in finding the Avatar himself and becoming any meaningful part of his life.

Although the trip to the Southern Air Temple in the beautiful Patola Mountains was borne out of genuine nostalgia and the desire to visit his father’s old friends for advice and mentorship, part of him always harboured the hope that he would also find what he had once lost here. Erwin also wanted to make good on his promise to his father that he would continue in the adventures they had once planned together, although doing it solo had just worsened his sense of loneliness.

It was with absolute delight that the Supreme Monk had invited him to stay and train with them, to better understand their ways; in return, Erwin would teach the children about his father and about earth bending customs.

It wouldn’t be the same as teaching the Avatar, but something about teaching children about the world appealed greatly to Erwin. Aged sixteen, he had mastered Earth bending according to council standards, but knew that he still had much to learn. Perhaps these innocent children would teach him more about himself as a man too, and better his own abilities; maybe _this_ would help fill the hole in his heart.

His father had always taught him that understanding all four elements was the key to understanding oneself, and one’s own element. That earth couldn’t be understood in isolation from the other elements. There was a lot to learn from these air benders, and Erwin couldn’t wait to begin his own training at the Temple.

“In honour of your visit, I’ve arranged a showcase of our talents.” Shadis was rocking on the balls of his feet in his excitement. “First you will see our novices, then we will work our way up to the contemporary masters.”

“You honour me,”

“That’s the point. And this way, you can see how our monks progress in their abilities with time and perseverance. I hope very much that you will enjoy it.”

“I always enjoyed watching air bending.” Erwin reassured him, “It’s a complete dichotomy to my own element. And I think the two have a lot to learn from each other.”

There was noisy chatter as hundreds of air benders entered the colossal stone stadium, which had been carved out from rock about a kilometre away from the main temple itself. There was a pleasantly gentle breeze which Erwin was grateful for, as the sun was high in the sky and cast no shadows. Shadis and Erwin took the seats of honour, with wonderful views of the arena below.

“You have women here now?” When Erwin had last visited, the temple had housed and trained exclusively male air benders. Now he could see female air benders in their distinctive robes, sitting equal to the men.

“Yes, when I became Supreme Monk, I decided that we would take in anyone. They sleep in separate accommodation of course, but they train together. Men and women often air bend differently, but as you said, opposites can learn a lot from each other.”

“In the earth kingdom, we train together. After all, Avatar Kyoshi was a formidable earth bender and a woman. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Finally, a gong sounded, and the display began.

The children performed first; around a hundred children stood in formation and began to air bend. Katas and air blows were performed in childish dis-coordination, but still with impressive discipline. The arena was filled with leaves, and Erwin had thought at first that it simply hadn’t been swept in a while. But no. The leaves allowed him to see the air bending. They would swirl and twirl in the air, displaying the currents and direction of movement. It was very pretty.

The more proficient monks came next, and the improvement with age was clear. Then there was a performance by an old monk who was still surprisingly limber, despite looking about seventy years old. One of the air bending masters stood next and performed an amazing and almost perfect display of advanced air bending techniques; the difference between the novices and the masters was stark. Erwin knew his own father had found air bending terrifically hard, as it was the polar opposite to his own natural element. Air bending had taken him longer to master than water and fire combined, and it wasn’t something he would do unless he had to. Despite being the Avatar, Ewin was sure his father hadn’t been as good as the master currently show casing her skills.

Once the master had finished and bowed, Erwin assumed the displays were over and allowed himself to start day dreaming about food. He hadn’t eaten all day.

Erwin’s stomach growled.

“Ha!” Shadis laughed, clapping a hand familiarly on Erwin’s shoulder, “Just like your father. I swear, an earth bender’s stomach is never full. Don’t worry. One final performance, and then we all eat.”

With each demonstration being significantly better than the last, Erwin almost shook with excitement, nearly unable to wait to see who they had to crown the day.

The arena went silent as the final monk made his appearance.

From a stone entrance in the arena, a small child stepped out with his gliding staff, wearing only a pair of baggy orange pants that finished tightly around his mid-calves. His feet were bare and it looked like he didn’t frequently wear shoes. The boy looked about six years old, with a sullen expression and a sharp little face. Lean and tightly muscled, he had a shaved head like the other monks, but had yet to be tattooed, and was clearly a novice. Erwin would have frowned if it didn’t look rude.

What was this? Was this little boy really the climax of the celebration?

 _Perhaps it’s meant to be symbolic,_ Erwin mused, _Something to do with humility._

Then the boy began his kata.

It was a memory that Erwin would later recall with immense fondness throughout the rest of his life when others would ask him to retell the story of his journey to find the Avatar. And when Erwin did recall this moment, he always felt as breathless as he had the day he first experienced it. For once the boy started, it felt like the world too held it’s collective breath. The air around them went perfectly still, in the way Erwin would grow to become familiar with anytime his friend was in the vicinity. Almost as if he were under an enchantment, Erwin watched the child move, completely unable to take his eyes off the marvel unfolding in front of him.

During his travels with his father, Erwin had seen numerous people bend the elements with talent. He had seen his own father, with all his prodigious wisdom and skill, adeptly bend all four elements. What he had seen so far today were children, men and women who had spent their lives dedicated to mastering the art of air bending; who were all capable and competent air benders. As might be expected, some seemed to have more of a flair for it than others.

And yet now, Erwin was sure he’d never seen _anyone_ so extra-ordinary. No one so naturally gifted at any element. The little boy’s movement spoke a pure genius of physicality. This child was poetry in motion. He wasn’t just air bending; _he had become_ the air itself. It was almost as though his feet _didn’t_ _actually_ _belong_ on the ground. Whenever he did fleetingly contact the ground between fluently performed movements, it was so delicately that when Erwin closed his eyes to try and sense the vibration from the small feet through the ground, seismically it felt like nothing more significant than snowflakes alighting softly on the earth.

The boy spun, dozens of vortices of leaves swirling around him in unison, all different sizes and directions of movement, as he perfected move after move. The leaves danced in the air currents, demonstrating the absolute control the child had over the air around him.

How was he able to control so many currents simultaneously?

Then the boy stood his stick upright and climbed it like a monkey, hooking his feet around it and used pure upper body strength alone to hold his torso away from it. It was move that Erwin knew his father had never been able to master. The balance and poise required was immense, and yet here it looked inconceivably effortlessly done.

From his upright position on the staff, the boy deployed the glider's wings and shot straight up into the air. As Erwin looked up to follow him high in the sky, he could see that even the clouds kilometres above him had swirled into beautiful patterns and were sweeping around into unnatural formations.

“Wow,” the whispered utterance left him without conscious thought, hand moving to clutch at his pendant.

“Yeah.” Shadis sounded as though he begrudgingly agreed, “He’s the best we’ve ever had. But he needs more goddamn discipline.”

They were silent the rest of the performance. The boy never became out of breath, and performed all his moves in complete silence, appearing weightless as he remained suspended in the air. 

The end came all too soon. Looking as though the whole show had been a complete non-event, the boy landed, turned and bowed, before silently leaving the arena. As soon as he left, the wind picked up again, causing the leaves to drift aimlessly and sullenly, as though wishing the boy would return.

As everyone stood up to leave and make their way to where food would be served, Erwin stayed seated, hunger completely forgotten. He grabbed Shadis' robe, causing the monk to turn and look at him. Erwin couldn’t tear his eyes away from where he’d seen those last glimpses of the child.

“Shadis,” Erwin felt he could hardly draw air to speak, “that boy, he’s been here since birth if he’s this good, I assume? Why doesn’t he have tattoos?”

“No not quite. We picked him up in the slums on the mainland around six months ago. Word reached us that there was a child there who could air bend, but he seemed to be eluding local authorities. He was a delinquent. Stealing things. Committing petty crime. And some not so petty crimes. Not a good look for us. The police wrote to us to implore us to come and take him away. Which of course, he being one of ours, we are honour-bound to do. In a few weeks he will get his tattoos with the others who are due theirs.”

Frowning, Erwin inclined his head, "So he’s been here only six months?”

“About that, yeah. And he’s always disappearing off instead of training. He hasn't been a good fit here. Hasn't made any friends either. ”

The boy was probably lonely. And homesick. Feelings Erwin understood all too well. Erwin looked at the older monk thoughtfully, letting go of the robe. “The slums, huh? Maybe he had to steal in order survive there.” 

“He probably did," the airbender conceded. "He said he used air bending to help him steal. He’s an orphan. His mother died a few years ago and it seems he never knew his father.”

“So his mother taught him to air bend? She was an air bender?” Erwin assumed she must have taught the boy the basics. But he must have taken after his father, at least outwardly. Erwin could see no trace of the features that defined the air bending race of nomads.

“He says she couldn’t bend the elements.”

“So, who-“

“Self-taught. So he says. He could already do all of this when he first got here. We’re just trying to beat the criminal out of him. Metaphorically, of course.”

Gesturing disbelievingly towards the exit the boy had walked through, Erwin nearly stuttered out, “B-but, no, I mean, you can’t just _know_ how to do these katas. You don’t just get _this_ good teaching yourself, learning by trial and error. Perhaps you could learn _basic_ manoeuvres, but surely not advanced techniques like what I’ve just seen?”

Shadis shrugged, “Some of his adaptations to the katas are-“ he tried to find the right word, “-unusual. He exercises too much positive jing. Of course, he could be lying. But really, I’m not sure how else to explain it. You got a better suggestion?”

He did. Except none of it fit. The Avatar was a fire bender. Was ten years old. Was actually in the Fire Nation right now, learning to hate the rest of the world.

This boy, this prodigiously talented boy was too young, the wrong element and was on the wrong side of the world.

But the Fire Nation had never definitively proven that they had the Avatar. Could his father have influenced where and when he'd been reincarnated, breaking the cycle of reincarnation of the Avatar? Was it possible that he'd simply waited and chosen a different nation to be born into? It didn't really seem possible. No other time in history had it ever happened.

And yet, Erwin couldn’t shake the feeling that this boy was important, even if he wasn't the Avatar. Perhaps the child would have another important role to play. Without understanding exactly _how_ yet, Erwin felt he'd just gotten one step closer to being reunited with his father.

~~~

He dreamed of his father that night. Sort of. Erwin was sitting alone in the air bending temple arena, and he was watching the boy perform katas again. Once again, he flew with majesty and grace, flawless and perfect. When he finished and bowed towards him, Erwin could feel an odd vibration coming from the pendant around his neck. He looked down, trying to grip it, to make it stop, but it felt hot and burned his fingers, and he had to let go.

_“Find me, Erwin.”_

His father’s beloved voice came from the arena in front of him, and Erwin’s head snapped up. It had been over ten years since he had died, and Erwin had begun to worry that he could no longer remember how the man truly sounded. But here, in this dream, it was as clear as day.

But when he looked up, the only person standing there was the little boy, regarding him silently with those odd grey eyes.

When Erwin awoke in the morning, he tried to hold onto the dream, knowing it was important. But like trying to grasp air, it fleeted away and was forgot.

~~~

Later that same day, Erwin set off alone to retrace the steps in the canyon where his father had taken him a decade earlier. It looked drier than it once had, and with the sun beating down on the chalk walls it felt like an oven. There wasn’t a breath of air to be felt, and Erwin could see the sweat dripping off him and being sucked away quickly into the dry dust beneath his feet as soon as it hit the ground.

Watching his feet and trying to trace the steps he had taken nearly a decade before, Erwin’s eyes flitted back and forth, looking for a glint of metal, or the texture of a cord. Where he placed his hand along the hot wall of the canyon, the limestone was slippery from where countless others had gripped it to steady themselves as they too walked this same path.

In the distance, he saw the tree his father had once pointed out, and couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. It looked as though it had grown little in the ten years since he’d last seen it, but it was very much alive. Greenery covered its branches, making it stand out sharply on the desolate slope of the canyon. The river had continued its relentless migration away from it. Now, it was perhaps fifty metres away, and looked as though it was about to form an oxbow lake.

As he approached the tree, he saw the uneven ground where its huge roots had pushed the earth up and away as they stretched their tendrils towards the river. Erwin reached out a hand, and tenderly touched the bark, exactly where his father had laid his own hand on it years before, as he spoke about it fondly as though it were an old friend, and not a gnarly old tree.

“Do I know you?” A little voice from high in the tree caused Erwin to jump, quickly retracting his hand from the bark as though he’d been burned. Looking up, he saw the boy without the tattoos sitting on a high up branch in the tree, shaded by it’s leaves. His grey eyes regarded him lazily, sunlight dappling across his body, making him look as if his pale skin were on fire.

Smiling up at him, Erwin squinted in the bright light, “I was in the front row at the celebration. I watched you air bend,”

“I know. You kinda stand out a bit here. You know, with the hair and the green clothes.” The boy pointed at Erwin’s attire, “But what I mean is that I think I’ve met you before then.”

“I doubt it. I haven’t been here in over ten years. And you are- what? Six years old?”

The boy scowled at him, jutting his pointed chin out proudly, “I’m nearly ten. In mid-winter.”

So he was just small for his age. A life in the slums probably meant poor nutrition. Hopefully that would be rectified here. “You’re very small for a ten year old.”

“Well, maybe you’re just too big. Do they feed actual rocks to earth bending kids?”

To the small boy, the burly, six foot two Erwin probably did seem enormous. What would he think of Mike? He chuckled, “No, just normal food. What’s your name?”

The boy looked up at down, eyes scrunched slightly as he scrutinised Erwin, “Levi.”

“Levi.” He tried the name out, deciding it suited the boy. “That’s a nice name. What does it mean?”

“My mom told me it means ‘My light shines’.”

Something fired in the recesses of Erwin’s memory as the boy spoke. For a moment too long he paused as, unbidden, his mind tried to recall something his father had said to him as he lay dying.

“Are you going to tell me your name?” The little voice Interrupted Erwin’s train of thought. 

Erwin extended a hand up, standing on tip toes to reach the boy, “My name is Erwin. Nice to meet you.”

Unsure at first, Levi stretched and extended a hand down, watching as it was swallowed up in the bigger boy’s paw.

“What are you doing up there?” He asked as Levi moved away. 

Panther-like, Levi lounged on his stomach on one of the larger branches, playing with something small in his hand, “This is my tree. I sit up here all the time.”

“Your tree, huh?”

“Yeah, I remember when it was this big.” The child put his thumb and index finger closely together, demonstrating something the size of a large seed.

Erwin laughed, “Now I know you’re making things up. That tree is nearly a century old.”

Confusion briefly crossed the young face, before settling back on his usual scowl. “Well……I…….” But he didn’t seem to be able to come up with any meaningful retort. “I keep my things in here.”

“Things?”

“We aren’t supposed to own anything.” The boy continued to fiddle with the object in his hand. As monks, we’re supposed to be detached from the world and worldly things.” Levi grinned at him, “But the river brings me down all sorts of cool stuff. People lose them upstream, and they wash down here. I find them and put them in here,” he gestured to a little hollow in the tree. “You wanna see? Since we’re friends?”

 _Friends_? Erwin huffed out a laugh through his nose. Wasn't this the boy with no friends? “Sure,”

“You can’t tell anyone though. Or I’ll get in trouble.”

“I won’t tell,” Erwin assured him.

The little boy put away what he was playing with under the neckline of his robe, then swung down nimbly and reached into the little hole with a small hand, scooping out a fistful of dull-looking objects. Then he jumped lightly to the ground and spread them out to better display them for Erwin.

The objects varied in shape and size; there were rings, coins, little badges and even something that had probably once been a tin soldier. All had one feature in common. They were all metallic.

“Don’t you find pottery, or gems or anything else? Or do you just like metal things?”

“I can, I just prefer metal things. I can tell where they are going to be on the riverbed.”

For a moment, hope swelled in Erwin’s chest; perhaps his lost pendant would be here. But he wasn’t really certain exactly where he would have lost it. It may well have fallen in the river when he’d been paddling and splashing around, but it could in equal likelihood have dropped off his neck at the Temple itself, or on the long and dusty road back to the ship. Glancing at the objects, he could see that none of them were what he was looking for.

He sighed.

“Don’t you like them?” The kid sounded deeply disappointed, seeming to want the approval of the newcomer.

“Oh I do.” Erwin hastened to reassure him, “Thank you for showing me.”

“Would you like one? To keep?”

“That’s a very kind offer, but actually I’m trying to find something I lost here myself a long time ago.” Just before he stood to continue his search, Erwin had a thought. “Hey, actually, if you ever find something that looks like this, could you save it for me?” Remaining kneeling, he put his fingers under the cord of his pendant, and pulled it out from under his clothes to show the boy, his fingers holding the broken coin out for him to see.

Levi's grey eyes widened, “That’s mine!”

Erwin opened his mouth to protest, but not in time for small, deft fingers to gently brush against his own and the gleaming metal surface of the coin.

And then he felt it.

Almost indiscernibly, the metal began to thrum gently under his fingertips. It had never done that before.

Levi stared at it transfixed, then looked up into Erwin’s eyes, pulling his hand away. Slowly and with both hands, the tiny monk pulled down his own high robe collar, and Erwin caught a glimpse of an old, frayed cord around the boy’s neck. In the heartbeat before the boy kneeled down to show him what he had, Erwin could hear his father’s voice whisper to him.

“ _Find me, Erwin.”_

The child hooked his fingers under the string, and drew it up and out from under the air bending robe. Into view came a length of worn cord with a broken coin hung on it, rusted green with age and the relentless action of water and heat and air.

Erwin couldn’t move. He was utterly frozen to the spot. Levi reached out for Erwin’s piece of the coin, and with gentle fingers, reunited the two lost halves together again.

Grey eyes met blue. And suddenly, Erwin found himself blinded by white light.

In his shock, he tried to pull away, but was jerked back by the cord around his neck going tight. When he looked down, he could see that the jagged line between the two halves of the coin glowed white hot, the pendant now whole and stuck fast.

A ferociously hot wind whipped up around him, and Erwin was deafened by the roar. He closed his eyes and covered his ears to prevent himself being blinded by the sand bombarding his face. Then, as suddenly as it happened, the wind died down and the canyon went silent. Through his closed eyelids, he could see the blinding light die away.

“Erwin.” Deep and sonorous, and utterly familiar, a voice full of love that he hadn’t heard since he was a boy sounded out from in front of him.

No.

It couldn’t be.

Erwin opened his eyes.

Levi had vanished. And now the cord lay around a bigger, thicker neck.

There, kneeling before Erwin, with familiar blue eyes full of tenderness, was his father.

“Oh my beloved son. You found me.”


	2. We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotion he hadn’t felt for a long time awoke inside Erwin at Levi’s child-like hopefulness that they could be destined to have found each other. In as many ways as they were different, both boys were alike. Both masters in their respective elements. Both connected to the previous Avatar. Both orphaned young. Both so terribly alone and desperate to find real connection in the world.
> 
> "Soul friends, huh?"
> 
> "Yeah, Soul Friends."

“Erwin, my son. How I’ve missed you. Look how you’ve grown.”

For whole moments, Erwin sat staring silently at the man who had appeared opposite him. Where once there had been a little boy, the hulking, blonde figure of his father now knelt. The coin connecting the two men hung between them, the cords of the two halves of the pendant encircling their necks in an endless loop, keeping them connected.

Suddenly, Erwin launched himself forward, half expecting to pass through what was probably only an ethereal image of his dead father. But no. Strong arms returned the tight hug and he could hear his father humming in happiness against Erwin’s ear.

“Father, it’s you! It’s really you! I’ve missed you too. So much.” Erwin began to cry, something he hadn’t been able to do since the night his father passed away. “Things have been awful since you died. I’ve been so lonely. And I thought I’d have to break my promise to you.”

“But you didn’t. You found me, Erwin. Like I knew you would. It was your destiny.”

“So this boy-?”

“Yes, Levi is the Avatar.”

“But how?”

Ignoring the question, his father asked, “What do you think of him?”

“Father, the new Avatar-“ Erwin began rambling in his excitement, “-he’s incredible! You should see him air bend! It’s as easy for him as breathing.”

“I know, Erwin. He fights with much fire in his heart.”

“I can’t wait to teach him earth bending.” Erwin paused. “How did you do it father? How did you change the cycle of reincarnation and end up as an air bender?”

“It is……” he hesitated, “It is unimportant.”

“I’ve missed you father.”

The man in front of him was solid, and real. His skin was warm and Erwin could even smell the distinctive aged leather of his earth kingdom clothing.

“You look just like I did at your age, kiddo. Probably more good-looking though. I bet all the girls chase you?”

“Uh, well, I don’t know. There was one girl, but it would have tied me to the village and I had a promise to keep.”

“You have a long journey ahead Erwin. In miles, and in years. This boy will need guidance for a long, long time. You may not always be directly by his side, but you need to be ready when he needs you.”

“I’ll teach him everything you taught me,” Erwin spoke earnestly, “About the elements, and humility and bringing balance to the world.”

“Show him love, Erwin. Of all the lessons we had, teaching you that you _were_ loved and _could_ love was the most important. Love forms the basis of all the other lessons I taught you.”

Erwin stared. He hadn’t thought of it like that. His father’s love had given him immeasurable courage and strength. And still did.

“Keep him secret and safe, Erwin. If the Fire Nation hear a word about a boy who could be the Avatar, they will come for him. And they may not take him alive if he puts up too much of a fight.”

“Should we stay here, then?”

“No, you must take him to the North Pole. It is the greatest stronghold against the forces of the Fire Nation. Go as soon as you can. Wait for no one.”

“Does he know already?”

“I think he does, Erwin. But let him know you do too.”

“When will I see you again, father?”

“That I cannot say. But one last thing Erwin.” His father stared him hard in the eye. “Your hatred for the Fire Nation is clouding your judgement. You must learn to forgive them.”

Bristling with indignation, Erwin could only whisper, “How can I possibly forgive them? For what they did to you? The village? The world? I will _never_ forgive them.”

“Your hatred for them will hinder your own spiritual, emotional and even your physical development Erwin. You will never rest easy in your soul with so much hostility and resentment holding you back.”

Erwin breathed heavily as his father spoke. How could he not understand? Why had he forgiven them so easily? Did his father not understand what a loss he had been, to the world and to his son? His father continued speaking. 

“We are one, Erwin. All four elements. None is better or worse than the others. They all need each other. Killing everyone within the Fire Nation will not bring balance to the world. The people are not your enemy. Those in power who make cruel choices are."

“I’ll make you proud, father.” Erwin tried to ignore what his father had said. “I’ll make you so proud.”

“It isn’t possible for me to be any prouder, Erwin.” He touched Erwin’s hair, “Of everything I accomplished in my life, _you_ are what I am most proud of.”

Erwin could feel the tears continuing to stream down his face; part of him wished he could have appeared braver and more stoical in front of his hero, but his father didn’t seem to care.

“My time in the mortal world grows short, Erwin. Remember, I am always with you. And I love you more than you could possibly know.”

“Father-“

But once again, a blinding light forced his eyes shut, and a hot wind whipped around him.

The coin split back into two halves, the connection broken once more.

The burning dust cleared, and when Erwin was able to open his eyes, the little boy once more sat in front of him just where his father had been moments before. Levi’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he pitched forward onto Erwin’s lap.

Erwin caught him and turned the small frame so the boy was cradled in his arms.

This was his father.

And wasn’t.

Despite Levi being in effect a complete stranger, Erwin felt a surge of love for the boy. He would protect him, teach him and care for him. Like an older brother. Levi had already said they felt like friends, and Erwin knew what he meant. It was a bone deep recognition of kinship, through a tie to a man long dead, and yet still living through those left behind.

As Erwin carried the boy out of the canyon, the wind picked up again, strong enough that Erwin felt his eyes water.

~~~

“I’m telling you,” Erwin looked from one air bending master to the next, “Levi is the Avatar.”

“Erwin,” Shadis was looking at him with a concerned look on his face, “I know he’s prodigious, but-“

“My father stood in front of me not three hours ago!” Erwin found himself almost yelling in his desperation to be believed, “Levi entered the Avatar state and then my father appeared. I’ve seen father do it enough times to know what I saw. It wasn’t a trick, or heat stroke or something bad I ate.”

“So what exactly do you propose?” The council of twenty air bending masters sat cross-legged, all staring at Erwin as if he were quite mad.

“Let him see the Avatar Relics. See for yourselves if he picks the correct toys. I already know he will.”

“And then what?” Shadis snapped, “If the Fire Nation discover this information, they will descend on us like a plague of locusts. And what of this- this boy they claim to already have?”

“Lies.” Erwin was certain. “And they will absolutely come here to capture Levi. Father told me to take him away to the North Pole to begin water bending training.”

Shadis shook his head, “But even _if_ he picks the correct relics, and even _if_ he is the Avatar, surely he shouldn’t be told until he is sixteen?”

Keeping his voice as calm and firm as he could, Erwin said, “Father said to tell him. If he didn’t already know.”

Barking out a cold laugh, Shadis looked at Erwin in astonishment, “So, what? You plan on just leaving with him? Just the two of you?”

“Yes.”

The council were all shaking their heads. Shadis continued, “None of this makes sense, Erwin. We are two cycles away from having an air bending Avatar.”

“Father didn’t say how or why it came to be like this.”

“Did you ask him?”

Trying not to roll his eyes, Erwin answered, “Of course I asked him. He said it was unimportant.”

“It seems terribly important,” one of the council members murmured.

“We will show him the relics, and let him choose four, as we always have when searching for the Avatar." Shadis sighed and took a seat." _If_ he chooses the correct toys, perhaps we will take your claim more seriously. Then, and only then, will we decide what is to become of him.”

~~~

They were never going to consent to letting Levi go. The boy belonged to the Temple for the next eight years at least, and Shadis seemed to have made it a personal mission to turn the little thug into a saint.

Flinging his possessions into his bag, Erwin swiftly made ready for a speedy departure. He nearly jumped out of his skin when an increasingly familiar voice sounded from the window behind him.

“Are you leaving?” Levi was standing on the window sill, his eyes large and sorrowful.

“Levi,” Erwin walked over to the window, pleased to see him and glad he didn’t need to waste time searching for him. He had left the boy in the sick bay after carrying him home. The boy had remained unconscious the whole walk back, likely exhausted from his time spent in the Avatar state. Looking down behind where Levi stood precariously on the window was a dizzying drop of several hundred metres down to a layer of cloud which masked the even higher drop to the base of the mountain range. It didn’t seem to phase the boy at all as he balanced thoughtlessly on the slim window frame. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“But I thought you were staying to teach us?”

“Things have changed, Levi.” He paused. “What do you remember? When we were speaking in the canyon?”

Levi shrugged, “I was showing you my toys and then I fell asleep I guess. Did you bring me back here?”

“Yes. Did you dream, when you were asleep?”

Little eyebrows drew tight as the boy tried to recall, “I think I-uhm. Wait.” He rubbed his forehead. “I felt glad you had found me. And we talked about girls. Then we hugged.” Levi looked up, “That’s all.”

“You know, Levi? Don’t you? ” It wasn’t really a question.

Levi looked at him, trying to decide whether to admit what must be the biggest secret in his short life. Perhaps the biggest secret in the whole world.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision.

“Yes. I think I’ve always known. My mom knew too. Even before I was born I think.”

Erwin nodded and tried to act as though this wasn’t the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him.

“Would you like to come with me?” It didn’t feel so much like kidnap if Levi was willing. Realistically, he wasn’t sure he would be able to kidnap the formidably powerful air bender anyway.

Asking a kid he had just met to steal away with him in the dead of night felt like a bit of a long shot, but something inside him told Erwin to at least give it a go. 

“Really?” Grey eyes flashed with excitement, “I can go with you?”

“Well, sort of. No one has said you can. But if we go now, then it’ll take a while for anyone to notice we’re gone and it’ll be harder to catch us.” Erwin looked at Levi, “Unless you want to stay?” He was already sure what the answer was going to be.

“No, I don’t belong here.”

Phew. That was easy. 

Levi watched Erwin as he jammed his book into the bag. “Where are we going?”

“To the North Pole.”

A shiver ran through Levi, “I don’t like the cold. And that’s the whole opposite side of the world.”

“It’s not going to be a short trip by any means. So we need to get going as soon as possible.” A thought occurred to Erwin. “I don’t suppose you have a pet or anything? Like a spirit animal?” A flying bison would be really fucking useful right about now.

“No. Should I?”

“Most Avatars do, but not always this young.”

He had never met his father’s spirit animal; a mole-dog he’d named Rubble. It could earth bend and apparently had a marvellous sense of smell. They had found each other when the Avatar was in his early twenties. But his father had been nearly fifty years old when Erwin had been born, and Rubble had long since passed.

“So, how are we going to get to the North Pole?”

“We’ll take a ship to the mainland and from there I guess it’ll be mostly on foot. Do you need shoes?”

“I don’t like wearing shoes. And I don’t like the sea much. Too much deep water. And monsters.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“No.”

“Do you want to get some things to bring?”

“Nah. I don’t have anything to bring that’s important. Except this.” He twirled his staff. “But I do need to go to the Air Sanctuary first. To pray.”

~~~

The enormous doors to the sanctuary were bolted by an odd horn-shaped locking device. Erwin had seen his father struggle to open it many years before. The key to the lock was the manipulation of air itself in a specialised air bending technique. He couldn’t wait to get back inside and see if a statue of his father had made its way in yet. It was likely that in the ten years since he’d died that the masons had managed to create a likeness. The only problem was going to be actually getting into the room.

Or so he thought. Effortlessly, Levi created two vortices of air, and with a low-pitched sound that reverberated right through Erwin’s body, the lock unbolted and the doors swung open.

The room was filled with the stone effigies of hundreds upon hundreds of previous Avatars, all in order of the sequence of the elemental cycle that, up until now at least, the reincarnation rhythm ran to.

“Woah,” Levi breathed out as he took in the army of Avatars surrounding them.

Even having seen them once before, the sight was breath-taking. Erwin’s eyes flit from one figure to the next, recognising many from books and word-of-mouth tales from village elders.

“Erwin,” Levi called over to him, beckoning him over with a hand, “Look, this one looks like you.”

It was uncanny. The mason who created the graven image must have met his father when he was a young man, and had first visited the Temple to master Air bending. This version of father looked around twenty five, and did indeed look remarkably similar to how Erwin currently appeared. It was moving to see such a lifelike representation, and Erwin felt a myriad emotions stir in him on seeing the man he had, and still did, love and revere.

“Yes, he does. Do you know why we look alike?”

“No. I feel like I know him though.”

“He was my father.”

Levi’s eyes widened, “Your father was an Avatar?”

“Yes. The last Avatar before you.”

“So, that means- he’s dead, isn’t he?” His grey eyes were tinged with sadness.

“Yes, Levi.”

Levi placed a hand on the statue, “He died, and that’s why I’m alive.”

“Yes.”

The boy’s voice was child-like and unsure when he next spoke, “Are you angry with me? Is it my fault?”

“No,” Erwin put a reassuring hand on Levi’s small shoulder and squeezed gently, “he was killed by Fire Benders while trying to protect our village. You’ve probably never met any of the people from the Fire Nation, but they are a cruel and evil race. Fire consumes and destroys everything in it’s path, and fire bending can only be performed by those with hate and anger in their hearts. You couldn’t be farther removed from being the cause of his demise.”

Levi averted his gaze at Erwin’s words, clearly disquieted and not at all reassured.

After a moment of gazing from one statue to the next, Levi spoke again.

“So, all these people-“ Levi swept his hand around at the stone figures surrounding them, “-are all my past lives?”

“Yes. And they live within you still. In fact, part of my father lives on in you.”

Levi looked up at Erwin, “Do you think that’s why we’re friends?”

“Yes, I do. We are connected by our link to my father.”

“Like an Anam Cara?”

“A what?”

“My mom told me that it means a soul friend.” Levi cupped his hands together and scooped up some dirt from the floor, holding it up to show Erwin. “That once, when all the world was just clay and water, and life hadn’t yet begun, the fire spirits took some of the clay and gave it the spark of life, breaking the silence of nature and creating the first people and animals. And the clay that made me lay right beside the clay that made my Anam Cara.”

Levi separated his hands, with a handful of dirt in each, showing them being parted from each other. Erwin listened, fascinated at the telling of an origin of life story he had never before heard. Looking up at the older boy to see if he was still paying attention, Levi continued. 

“In the turning of the seasons, our one clay divided and separated. We rose as two distinctive clay forms, each housing a different personality and destiny. But without even knowing it, our secret memory mourned the loss of each other. While our clay selves wander through the world, our longing for each other never fades and we remain destined to search and find each again other in every lifetime. You belong with your Anam Cara, and will always recognise their soul when you reunite in a moment of friendship. With a flash of recognition, the embers of kinship glow. You awaken together with a sense of ancient knowing. Love opens the door of recognition and you enter, sharing your hearts and coming home to each other at last.”

Bringing his hands back together, Levi compressed the soil tightly together again into a ball, before setting the compacted mound at the feet of Erwin’s father’s statue. Then, shaking the rest of the dirt from his hands, Levi smiled up at Erwin and fished out his half of the pendant from under his orange robe, “Two friends, one soul.”

Emotion he hadn’t felt for a long time awoke inside Erwin at Levi’s child-like hopefulness that they could have been destined to find each other. In as many ways as they were different, both boys were alike. Both masters in their respective elements. Both connected to the previous Avatar. Both orphaned young. Both so terribly alone and desperate to find real connection in the world.

Erwin’s father had told him as a young boy that sometimes when great moments knocked on the door of life, it was often no louder than the beating of your own heart, and it could be very easy to miss. The little boy's story could easily be dismissed as a fairytale, or merely wishful thinking. Erwin decided to listen to his heart and accept the gift of love that the child was offering him so freely. Wild possibilities felt freed within him at hearing that Levi had such conviction that a sublime unity of ancient belonging existed between them.

Pulling out his own half of the coin, Erwin allowed Levi to join the two pieces, smiling as he did so.

“Soul friends, huh?”

“Yeah. Soul friends.”

Glancing up at his father one last time, Erwin stood and bowed to the statue, silently praying that he would continue to guide them on their way.

He saw Levi making his own reverence. Erwin gave him a moment to finish, and then Levi looked up with a determined expression set on his face.

“Are you ready, Levi?”

Erwin felt a small hand slip into his. Hopeful eyes burned up at him, “Let’s go!”

~~~

The dusty road to the ship seemed longer now that Erwin was time-limited in traversing it. Once the sun rose, the ship would set sail. It gave them only a few hours to get there. If Levi had been travelling alone, he’d have completed the trip in no time. His air bending made him naturally speedy, and in the air Erwin was certain he could cover perhaps a hundred miles in a single day.

Deciding to try and keep apace, Erwin used his earth bending to launch himself along. For a few miles at a time, he sped along, and Levi was clearly fascinated by the skill. Perhaps during their travel up north there would be time to begin some basic earth bending training. It would be Levi’s weakest element, so there was surely no harm getting a head start.

They managed to reach the ship about an hour before it was due to depart. The captain recognised Erwin and greeted him warmly.

“Back so soon?”

“Ah, yes. Family matters. Unfortunately, it cannot wait.”

“And who is this?”

“This is my-uh-“, Erwin’s mind searched frantically for the right term.

“Friend,” Levi finished for him, “I’m coming too.”

“Luckily for you there’s a spare bed going. Otherwise you’d both be sleeping out on the deck every night.” The man seemed to find the idea hilarious. Levi less so.

“How are the sailing conditions looking?”

The Captain looked out to the horizon, “Well, it’s a good thing it’s _not_ a sailing vessel; there isn’t a breath of a breeze in the air, and without the coal burners we wouldn’t be getting very far at all. I’ve never seen the sea this calm. Nor the wind. Very promising conditions for smooth sailing.”

Levi’s young face showed immense relief.

~~~

That night, they were shown to a cold, cramped room with a narrow bed.

“This will be yours.” The sailor gestured to the bed, bowed slightly and left the room. The bed looked like it would be a tight fit. But having been awake for nearly forty eight hours at this point, Erwin was too exhausted to care. Levi looked to be in a similar state. 

“Do you mind sharing?” Erwin really didn’t want to have to sleep on the metal floor.

“No, I’m used to sharing.”

Crawling under the blanket, Erwin got himself comfortable, hooking an arm under the boy as he climbed in with his back to Erwin’s front. Being as light as a feather, Levi’s head probably wasn’t going to make his arm go numb during the night, and it was more comfortable this way. At first, Erwin was unsure quite what to do with the other arm, until Levi pulled it round him. It was how his father and he had slept when they had made this journey together so long ago. The small body he was spooning was incredibly warm. Levi was like a tiny furnace, and Erwin eventually moved the blanket off himself to prevent overheating.

As Erwin allowed himself to drift off to sleep, his mind continued to mull over the problems that lay ahead. They would have to be so careful; no one could know that Levi was the Avatar. Word spread as quickly as wildfire, and any hint that there was a boy who claimed to be the Avatar on the mainland would attract the attention of the Fire Nation, who must surely at this point know that the boy they had was not the Avatar.

He smiled as he recalled watching Levi’s air bending performance. The tiny, sleeping child in his arms had the potential to become one of the most formidable Avatars in history. If the Fire Nation got hold of Levi, they would surely mould him into the world’s greatest weapon. If the boy was already this good at air bending without instruction, what else was he capable of? Without sound spiritual direction, great power over all four elements would be dangerous, and the world’s balance would be at risk.

Levi clearly hungered for love and acceptance. If Erwin didn’t provide it, someone else undoubtedly would try and they could easily take advantage of the orphaned child who felt like he didn’t belong anywhere. Erwin had made a promise to his father to care for this boy. For much of his life, he had worried about whether he really could love the child who lived because his own father had died. But what Levi had said in the sanctuary had kindled a strange vitality within Erwin, and he felt the integrity of his intention solidify absolutely. He found Levi easy to love, and it nourished a sense of belonging in Erwin. In return for this boy's seemingly unconditional love, he would be Levi’s teacher and spiritual guide, until the day he was no longer needed.

With a wonderful sense of purpose and calm, and the feel of a warm body snuggling happily against him, Erwin succumbed to sleep.

~~~

He awoke shivering a few hours later. The blanket was around him, but Levi was no longer in the bed and clearly hadn’t been for a while judging by the lack of warmth on the sheets. Concerned, Erwin got up and went to search for him.

The deck was quiet, and the sky absolutely cloudless. The sea was as flat as a pane of glass, and the boat glided fluidly across the water’s surface. The moon was full tonight, and silhouetted by it, high up in the crow’s nest, sat a familiar small figure.

Heights really weren’t Erwin’s thing; he belonged on the ground after all. Regardless, he toed off his shoes and began to climb the rope ladder hanging from the lookout point.

“Hi Erwin,”

“Hey. What are you doing up here?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d wake you up if I tossed and turned, so I came up here.”

They sat in companionable silence. The moon hung above them, full and luminous.

“Do you ever wonder why sometimes it’s full and sometimes it’s hardly visible?” Erwin asked out loud. “It’s not like the sun ever does that. Well, except during the eclipse I guess. So why does the moon do it?”

Levi looked at him seriously, “Well, the difference is that the moon doesn’t make it’s own light.”

Stunned, Erwin asked, “How do you know that?”

Reaching out a palm towards the glowing orb, Levi closed his eyes in concentration, ”I can feel it. It’s the sun’s light. Only weaker. It’s reflecting the sun’s light. The moon is cold, like water; and like water it reflects the light. The moon doesn’t make it’s own fire the way the sun does.”

“The moon is made of water?”

Levi regarded him as though he were an idiot, “No, it’s rock. It goes round us, and we go round and round the sun."

Shaking his head as he spoke, Erwin looked back at him dubiously, “How can you possibly know that?”

“Because I’m the Avatar,” Levi teased. “Seriously though, I can feel it. It swings around the world, pulling it. And the Earth pulls back. It’s like a constant tug-of-war.”

“So what about the stars?”

“They’re like the sun.”

“But smaller?”

“No!” A gleeful expression suffused Levi’s face, and he stretched out his arms wide, “Some of them are even bigger than the sun, but they’re so far away that they look small. They’re made of air, you know.”

Now that _was_ ridiculous. “They’re made of fire,” Erwin retorted, “anyone can see that. So why is it colder at night then, if there’s all these suns shining?”

“Cos they’re far away I guess. To me though, when the sun sets every night, it feels like the dawn of a billion suns. I can feel them all shining. But they’re there all the time. We just can’t see them during the day. It all makes me feel really small.”

“You _are_ really small.”

“Shut up.”

Levi shoved him playfully, and Erwin allowed himself to be knocked over.

He reached up and pulled Levi over, wrestling him into an embrace. The boy laughed and tried to start a play fight.

Erwin managed to pin the boy’s arms to his sides. “I hope you don’t seriously think you can win, little air bender. Have you seen my arms compared to yours?”

“Yeah, well it’s not just about brute strength you know.” He struggled in Erwin’s mighty grip, “I’ll just blow you off the top of the mast,”

“But if I die you’d be really sad,”

“Yeah, probably.”

Erwin opened his arms to release Levi and then patted the monk’s bald little head. Levi turned and relaxed against him, both boys now looking out to the eastern horizon, waiting for the sun to greet them.

“It’s nice having a friend,” Levi played with the big fingers on Erwin’s calloused hands. “Even if he is an earth bender.”

“Well, this earth bender is happy you are his friend.”

Words weren’t needed after that. And as they sat in the receding penumbral gloom watching the sun rise together, Erwin replayed the myth of the Anam Cara in his mind, the dawn also breaking in the night of his heart.


	3. All earth's full rivers cannot fill The sea, that drinking thirsteth still.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi swung his arm round so he was pointing directly at the floor beneath them.
> 
> “It’s there! It’s moving! It keeps circling under the boat.”
> 
> “Levi, there’s nothing to-“
> 
> CRASH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Loving re-watching Avatar with my toddler at the moment. His favourite character is Zuko and it warms my heart, especially when he screams at the TV for him to stop trusting his sister!
> 
> So, I'm all over the place with this fic, but rest assured that I have already written some stuff when they are adults together and it can all get really fun. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Life was mostly quite dull on the ship for the few days Erwin and Levi ended up spending on it. To pass the time on board, Erwin endeavoured to come up with a lesson plan of sorts. In the morning, they practiced Earth-bending katas after breakfast. There was of course no earth to speak of in the vicinity, but he thought at least learning the different style of movement might give Levi a head start when they actually reached dry land. The sun was baking overhead without any cloud cover, and after a few days they both sported browned shoulders and arms. With Levi’s skin being so pale, Erwin was surprised that the boy tanned at all, rather than just burn.

In the afternoons they practiced reading and writing. During their second day, Erwin had discovered that the orphan from the slums had never actually been to school, and had played hooky at the temple when the air benders had tried to sit him down to learn.

Crossing his arms defensively, Levi stared down at the deck, embarrassed at his illiteracy, “It was too hard and they acted like I was stupid.”

“You aren’t stupid, but you must learn. We can’t have an illiterate Avatar.”

Erwin sourced a paintbrush from one of the crew and by dipping it in some water, Levi was able to paint the shapes of letters on the dark metal floor of the ship. If he made a mistake, the letter would soon evaporate from the hot surface, leaving him room to try again.

The crew had duties to attend to during the day, but in the evenings they would gather together for some light entertainment. One evening there was a music night, and Levi had been particularly taken by one of the crew having a large suki horn. He had tried blowing in it himself, but couldn’t quite get the hang of biting on the small reed at the mouthpiece as he exhaled. Erwin had to laugh at how Levi’s little face turned red with the effort of not exhaling a literal hurricane into the horn as he tried and failed to produce a single musical note.

The boy itched to practice his air bending, to take to the air and fly around the ship. In the evenings, Erwin would sit up in the watch tower and wave as Levi performed his boundless feats of aeronautical acrobatics above the surf, clearly trying to impress the older boy, as if Erwin wasn’t already completely smitten with Levi’s incredible skill. Flying up, Levi would all but brush the sky, before quivering back down towards the sea. All the while, the atmosphere around him thrummed; a fleshless chant, a beating of air.

Erwin knew he wasn't the only one watching in quiet awe. The crew would down their tools, beckoning up those below deck to surface and watch the spectacle in the sky. Their heads would follow the dizzying movements of the boy in the air, then they would break out in rapturous applause once Levi had alighted, bored of showing off.

For a while after, Erwin and Levi would stay up in the crow’s nest talking, watching the occasional bird flying overhead and pondering the sea's glittering trail to the sun.

At one point, Levi asked him, “Should we tell the crew that I’m the Avatar?”

Erwin had been considering this for a while. Although the earth benders all seemed trustworthy, there was no guarantee that one of them didn’t have fire bending connections, or wouldn’t be willing to talk for a bag of gold coins. “I think it’s best that we try and keep the fact that you are the Avatar a secret from the crew.”

Levi had nodded and accepted the suggestion without argument.

Once they’d eaten and the sun had set, Erwin would usher his charge into bed. “You need ten hours sleep. Or you won’t grow up to be big and strong,”

“I’ve never slept ten hours in my life. My mom said I drove her insane from the day I was born from how little I slept. Besides, look at me,” Levi gestured at himself, looking disappointed, “I’m never going to grow up to be big and strong like you,”

“We’ll never know, unless you try.”

~~~

One night when they were tucked up in bed, Erwin was having a wonderful dream where Levi was a grown man, and together they were fighting fire nation soldiers side by side. Levi was a force to be reckoned with, but would watch with undisguised awe as Erwin demonstrated his mastery of earth bending. They were just about to win a fearsome battle, when suddenly Erwin was awakened by Levi leaping out of bed with a shout.

“Erwin, it’s a monster!”

Disorientated and still half-asleep, Erwin sat up and lit the kerosene lamp on the small table. They were in their cramped room on the ship, and Levi was standing with his back pressed against the door, pointing under the bed

“Hey, it was probably just a bad dream.” Erwin knelt to pretend to check under the bed. Nothing. “There’s nothing there kiddo, don’t worry. Let’s go back to sleep.”

But then Levi swung his arm round so he was pointing directly at the floor beneath them.

“It’s there! It’s moving! It keeps circling under the boat.” The child leapt around in agitation, trying to keep his feet off the floor.

“Levi, there’s nothing to-“

_CRASH_

Something large and immensely powerful slammed into the ship, causing it to rock wildly and Erwin lost his footing. He just about managed to not let the lamp smash in his fall; Levi looked terrified.

“It’s like some sort of sea snake. It’s attacking the boat, Erwin!”

Fully awake now, the earth bender realised that if they remained in the small room, they ran the risk of drowning if the boat sunk. Whatever it was hit into the ship again, more strongly this time. They swayed and tried to steady themselves.

Erwin tried to hide his own fear, “We need to get up to the deck,” Grabbing Levi’s hand, Erwin ran and headed up the narrow stairwells to the top deck.

Once again it was a calm night, and the moon shone brightly above them. There were hardly any waves on the ocean’s surface. Then silently out of nowhere, a colossal dorsal fin emerged out from the dark water, taller than the crow’s nest at it’s peak. Moonlight reflected off it’s iridescent, silvery scales before it slipped back into the ocean's depths. In their panic, the sailors on deck shouted and began climbing to the highest points on the ship.

Erwin had never seen anything alive that was as big as the thing in the water must be. Levi’s gaze flitted around, following where it must be underwater, somehow able to sense the creature. Suddenly he looked above and behind Erwin, mouth open in shock. Erwin turned to see an enormous tail raise out of the water, then slam down, forcing a huge wave of cold water across the deck.

While Levi jumped nimbly up into the air and escaped being dragged away, Erwin was swept off the deck and plunged head first into the icy water.

It felt like hitting solid rock; Erwin felt the freezing water leech the warmth and strength from his body. He knew he had to get out quickly. Opening his eyes in the water to try and orientate himself, he instead caught sight of the serpentine beast swimming swiftly towards him.

The huge creature looked directly at Erwin; opening it’s gaping mouth as it headed his way, clearly looking for a man-sized snack. Erwin froze as he stared into it’s round black eyes.

In-between him and the beast, a tiny figure dove into the water and turned towards the animal swimming at them, putting themselves between it and Erwin.

“Levi!” Erwin tried to yell, but underwater it came out only as bubbles and failed to make any sensible noise. Now with no air in his lungs, Erwin tried to swim towards the boy to get him out of the way. But before he made it, Erwin felt his vision start to darken at the edges, as his lungs screamed at him to surface and gulp air into them. The last thing he saw before his limbs stopped working altogether was Levi up-righting himself in the deep water and placing his hands together.

~~

~~~~

“-s alive?”

“What was that?”

“Is he breathing?”

“Erwin!”

The sound of commotion woke Erwin, his body coughing and spluttering the cold, salty water out of his lungs. Taking deep, hungry gulps of air, he tried to sit up.

“Levi?” he rasped out, “Levi?! Where is he? Where’s the beast?” The boat was rocking furiously under him, and a fierce wind roared above them. A crack of thunder pierced the sky and a flash of lightning lit up the deck, which looked as though it had been ripped apart. Whole metal panels were missing, the remnants clawed and sharp, leaving large lacerated holes in the floor. The staccato of light also revealed the crew surrounding them silently, staring with wide eyes. And then he saw the figure of Levi lying beside him, eyes open but looking terrified, exhausted and cold.

“A-are you O-o-oK Erwin?” Levi’s grey eyes were wide with worry. His teeth were chattering and his clothes were soaked.

Relieved beyond measure, Erwin grabbed him and pulled the boy onto his lap.

Erwin hugged him, “How did we-?” The creature could still be circling under them. He looked down at Levi's face and shouted, “Where is it now Levi? Point to it!”

“It’s there.” The captain said quietly, pointing over the side of the ship into the water and looking even more frightened than he had earlier when the beast was actively attacking the ship. Up until this point, the man who had been so friendly and accommodating to them both was now standing several metres from them in a stance that suggested he thought he was going to have to engage _them_ in a fight.

On shaky legs, Erwin cradled the boy and stood to look. Another crack of thunder sounded, and the forking lightning strike directly above them gave Erwin a fraction of a second to glimpse the shocking sight in the water.

Floating in the violent waves, the giant serpent (which Erwin could now estimate must be at least three times the size of the ship itself) drifted motionlessly; it’s body nearly torn to shreds, it’s life blood pouring out into the water surrounding it.

Dead.

Looking back around to the multitude of kerosene lamps being held up by the sailors, Erwin could see that all eyes were focussed on the little boy now cowering and sobbing in his arms.

“What was that?” The Captain whispered, “H-how did he do that, Erwin?”

“Do what? How did he do what?”

“There was a bright light, and the biggest waterspout I’ve ever seen shot up and washed you onto the deck.” The man gestured up into the sky then back down to Levi. “Then _he_ appeared. He was glowing. The Unagi appeared up out of the water, and then the metal ripped up from the ship and sliced it apart.”

“The Unagi?”

The Captain’s eyes were cold, “The beast,”

Having gotten used to calm seas, the tumultuous waves beneath Erwin were making it difficult for him to hold his footing, keep his stomach contents where they belonged and also try and concentrate on what the man was telling him. Above them, Erwin noticed the stars and full moon had vanished; the sky had darkened with tall and ominous clouds. One in particular hung over them, shaped like a vast anvil. Lightning kept flashing across it, and the sailors jumped back from Erwin and Levi as the very air around them seemed to crackle with electricity. The ship was rocking precariously, huge waves having appeared where before the sea had been perfectly still. 

He remembered his father once telling him that the ocean was mightier than the land. As a boy, Erwin had once watched the tumbling breakers wash the sandy beach at his feet, refusing to believe such a thing could be true. The waves had rolled merrily before rippling idly around his toes, foamy white and gentle. Harmless, surely. But now with the unknowably dark and deep sea around him toiling and wrathful, Erwin finally understood the power of water.

In a whisper, the Captain rasped, “What is he Erwin? What have you brought on this ship? The Unagi normally only attacks Fire Bending vessels. It's a creature of the water, and can't stand the heat of those ships.”

The water beneath him roiled wantonly, forcing Erwin to kneel and set Levi down. He moved in between the Avatar and the crew, lifting his hands in a placatory gesture, "It’s alright, you don’t need to be scared of him,” Erwin thought for a moment, "Maybe it was attracted to the burning coal?"

“It's never attacked before. And how can we not be afraid?” One of the crew spoke up, his face incredulous, “How the hell did he do that?”

“He’s a very talented air bender,” Erwin winced. Even as he spoke he knew it sounded weak.

“That was no air bending.” The Captain’s voice was angry and fearful, “Explain yourselves or you will be tossed overboard. I won’t risk the lives of my crew,”

Used to the motion of the sea, the crew stood well balanced around them ready for a fight. Occasionally they threw a glance over to the terrifying sight of the lifeless leviathan in the water, only to look back at Erwin and Levi again with even more fear in their eyes.

Erwin closed his eyes and sighed. Then he stared up at the Captain, “He’s the Avatar,” It pained him to tell the others, but right now there felt like no other option.

“Ha” The Captain barked out a cold laugh, “The Avatar is in Imperial City in the Fire Nation. With the Fire Lord.”

“I don’t know who they claim to have. I’m telling you now, that this boy is the _real_ Avatar. My father appeared to me through him. He is a prodigious air bender, and now from what you are telling me, you also witnessed him water bending." Erwin kept his eyes firm, willing the Captain to believe him, "You saw it with your own eyes. Who else could do that but the Avatar? Who else could do _that?_ ” Erwin pointed at the titanic carcass undulating in the waves alongside the boat.

The man’s voice was quiet as he put the pieces together, “I don’t know. How can we trust him?"

"Please, see past your fear. It is your fear that can't be trusted, not him." Erwin gazed around imploringly, “Let me bring him inside. Please.” Beside him, Levi was freezing cold and had curled into a ball, weeping and terrified. Desperate, Erwin prostrated himself and begged to the men on the deck, “If I can get him settled then the weather might too. Why do you think the sea has been so calm and is now whipped into a frenzy?"

The crew looked at him, baffled and quiet.

Erwin tried to reign in his impatience, "It's because Levi is the Avatar, and until now while he has been content, so has the sea and sky been. Please let me try and comfort him, and I promise the weather will turn.”

The captain gestured for his crew to gather, and a murmuring of conversation started, made inaudible to Erwin by the wind, rain and thunder. Erwin stayed on his hands and knees, face pressed to the floor until at last a verdict was reached.

In a quiet voice, the Captain said, “You may try and calm the boy and see if this will stop. But this doesn’t mean you can stay.”

“Thank you!” Erwin could have wept with relief, “Come here, Levi,” Erwin pulled the boy back into his arms and carried him as steadily as he could back to their small room, “It’s all right now. Everything’s going to be OK.” Erwin spoke as much to himself as he did to the slight figure cradled in his grip.

“H-how c-can it b-b-be alright? They know Erwin. They s-saw. I c-couldn’t c-control it. And I killed s-something." The ship gave a deep-heaved sigh in time with the sob wrenched from Levi's body, causing Erwin to stumble and knock sideways against the wall.

Steadying himself, Erwin continued the slow progress back down into the belly of the ship, "Hush now, it was an accident. I know you didn't mean to."

"It d-didn’t deserve to d-die, Erwin. ”

“Let’s get back inside and get warm and dry.” Hopefully settling Levi down would in turn calm the raging tempest around them.

Once Levi's wet clothes were peeled off, Erwin toweled the boy dry and gave him some of his own clothes to put on. The earth nation wear swamped the boy, but it would do the job for now. Erwin did the same with himself and then put them both back to bed, trying to rub some warmth into Levi’s little hands. He grimaced as ice-cold feet dug into his legs, and shivered until they managed to trap some shared heat under the blanket.

But it worked. Once Levi's stuttered weeping had eased into hiccups and then to slow cycled breaths, once he was warm and snug and hushed to sleep in Erwin's arms, the constant to-and-fro lurching of the ship ceased, and the sounds of the storm overhead dissipated as though it had simply never been.

When Erwin emerged in the morning having left the boy to sleep on in peace, the sky was blue and inviting, only a gentle sighing breath of air palpable. The cadence of the vast sea had settled, breakers hushed into a silent gleam. The sun shone and the water was almost mirror-like in appearance. But now, Erwin noticed, the crew kept their distance and eyed him warily as they hammered new metal plates onto the deck surface. 

He was summoned to the Captain’s quarters.

“We will drop you at nearest landfall.” The Captain was aloof in his behaviour, where once he had been all smiles and welcoming, “Kyoshi Island is the nearest point to us presently.”

“That’s fine.” Erwin tried to sound grateful, “Thank you for all your assistance and understanding.”

The Captain dismissed him, but Erwin paused and turned to give him one last look, “Please, don’t tell anyone about him. If the Fire Nation hear, they might try and find him. And then what happened last night will seem like the least of your problems.”

The man stared at Erwin, giving no sign as to whether he would heed his plea.

~~~

“That’s Kyoshi Island,” They were leaning on the side of the deck. Erwin pointed out the ever-growing speck of land to Levi. “Avatar Kyoshi created it as a safe place for her people. She was an amazing Earth Bender and one of my personal heroes.”

Levi didn’t respond. Instead he was staring at his own hands.

“Do they hate me?” Levi’s voice was small, “Are they afraid of me?”

Sighing and trying to bury his own frustration at their situation, Erwin knelt and looked the boy in the eye, “They hate because they fear. And they are afraid only because they don’t understand.”

“But I don't understand it either. Should I be scared? I couldn’t control it. All I wanted to do was scare it away from you.” Levi’s silver eyes betrayed his feelings more than anyone Erwin had ever met. "I didn't mean for it to die."

“I know you didn't mean to. It's understandable that seeing what you are capable of has scared you, but fearing it will not help you master it. Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small. Your future belongs to freedom, not fear, Levi.” Erwin pulled him into a hug, “Once we begin your training in earnest, and as you grow, you will gain more control and see that you don’t need to fear your own power.”

“Alright,” Levi whispered, gripping Erwin's shirt tightly and burying his face into his neck, “I trust you.”

Earnestly, Erwin whispered into his ear, "And no matter what, I'll be standing by your side, filled with pride and hope."

"No matter what?" Levi asked quietly. 

Erwin nodded, "No matter what." 


	4. Earth does not mix with fire, yet I am both ashes and flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write, though I have to be in the right mindset. I find this canon much trickier than snk canon for some reason. But it's nice to write poetically. I won't always follow where Aang and co went, but for now it's helping me world build a bit
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

As they approached Kyoshi Island, the crew gathered up on deck to silently ensure their two voyagers vacated the vessel as they had promised. Erwin stood holding Levi’s hand and trying to ignore their piercing stares. The boy beside him was now dressed all in green. The day before they were due to disembark, Erwin had obtained a rudimentary sewing kit and managed to alter one of his own outfits to just about fit Levi. On dressing, the boy had packed away his air bending clothes into the bag and stood in his new outfit, eyes alight with pride.

_“Now we’re like twins, Erwin!”_

_Unable to hold back a smile, he had ruffled Levi’s hair affectionately, “We are,”_

The gangplank was lowered once they made anchorage at a small wharf filled with fishing vessels in a large bay.

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Erwin stepped off the ship onto the wooden jetty, turned to the Captain and extended a hand. As cool as he felt towards the man, Erwin understood the importance of courteousness. Perhaps it would serve him well sometime in the future.

The Captain paused, as if unsure whether to accept the handshake. Then he seemed to make up his mind, giving a small smile and returning the gesture. “I’m sorry we haven’t parted on better terms. Good luck, Erwin.”

The smoke from the vessel had attracted the locals who lived on the small island. The ship made good it’s getaway without having to interact with the townsfolk, and for that Erwin was glad. A crowd of curious locals had gathered down at the small dock, looking warily at the strong-looking young man who had appeared suddenly and without announcement on their shores. But once Levi stuck his head around Erwin and the villagers saw the stranger was travelling with a child, their demeanour and body language changed, easing and relaxing.

A very ancient-looking woman approached the pair, leaning heavily on a gnarled, wooden walking stick, “Welcome to Kyoshi Island. How may we help you?” Her aged voice croaked, but resounded with wisdom and interest.

Erwin bowed deeply, “My friend and I are here to revere Kyoshi. She’s one of our greatest heroes. My father was the last Avatar, and my friend and I want to learn all kinds of earth-bending from all over the world.”

“Bless my soul,” Her green eyes brightened and she stared up at him, “Erwin?”

He looked back at the old woman, shocked. She knew him? He wracked his brain for who she could be, and tried hard to recall her face.

She laughed and waved a hand, “Oh, you won’t remember me. You must have been only two years old when your father brought you here. What an adorable child you were. One night I held you in my arms while you slept. My name is Nalin. And who is this?” She tried to peek around at the child clamped like a limpet to Erwin’s thigh.

Levi hid back behind his leg, clearly feeling shy after their last disastrous interaction with people.

Twisting to speak down to the child, Erwin smiled, “This is Levi. Say hello, Levi.”

“Hello,” was muffled into the small of Erwin’s back.

He patted the little bald head, “Uh, he’s just a bit shy meeting new people.”

Luckily, the old woman seemed used to children. She gave an odd, wonderstruck smile at the boy when he peeked around again at her, and was quiet for a few moments. After what seemed to Erwin like a very long silence, she collected herself and said, “That’s quite alright. You must both be hungry. Come. I have some delicious rice cooking. And my granddaughter has toys you might like to play with.” With that, Levi’s interest was piqued. He’d left behind all his little trinkets behind in his tree, and Erwin had felt quite bad that the child had nothing to play with while they were on the ship.

Wrenching the boy’s fingers from his trouser leg, Erwin held the small hand and they walked slowly with Nalin up to the village. The others followed, some enquiring about news from abroad, or telling Erwin about Kyoshi Island.

“The Unagi hasn’t been seen in a while,” one burly man told him.

Levi’s hand curled tighter in his, and Erwin squeezed back reassuringly.

“Oh?” Erwin prompted, wanting to hear more about the animal.

Nodding, the man smiled, “Normally it comes to the bay and scares away all the fish. We’ve never had such a good week for fishing! Our children have full bellies for once in their lives.”

“This is my home,” Nalin pushed open the creaky door into a homely wooden hut. Over a small fire was a pan of rice cooked with egg and fish; Erwin had to admit, it smelled divine. By his side, Levi was salivating and staring at it.

Once Nalin had bowled up the rice, Levi tore into it, raising a chuckle from the old woman as she dished him out a second helping. She looked very pleased at Levi's clear appreciation of her cooking.

“Oh my, you are a hungry boy. Well there’s plenty more where that came from. Oh, and here’s my granddaughter, Yia.”

A girl who looked about ten years old walked into the small house, took one look at Erwin and went stock-still, instantly blushed bright red.

“Hello Yia, I’m Erwin, and this is Levi,” Erwin gestured at Levi who had both cheeks stuffed full with rice like a little mole-hamster.

“Hi,” the girl said shyly.

“Yia, these boys will be our guests for a few days. Will you share some of your toys with Levi please? And make up two bed rolls in the barn?”

“Yes grandma,” Yia looked rather displeased at having to focus her attention on Levi instead of Erwin. She disappeared, then came back with a basket of small toys, dumping them unceremoniously in front of Levi and taking a seat beside the blonde, eyelashes fluttering. Slightly uncomfortable at the unabashed advance on him, Erwin pretended not to notice and watched Levi peering into the basket. He was sure the air nomad wouldn’t be especially interested in girls toys, and was taken aback when Levi fished out a ragdoll and stared for a while at its dirty face, touching its nose and mouth gently with one finger. Then he buttoned up the undone dress on its little raggedy body and held it like a baby.

“Dolls are for girls,” Yia teased him.

Softly, Levi said, “I like her.” And looked over at Erwin who smiled back and nodded.

“You can have her.” The girl tossed her hair and smiled coyly at Erwin, “I’m too old for dolls.”

“Yia,” her grandmother warned, “Make the beds please,”

“Yes Grandma,” and she sidled out the door, keeping her eyes on Erwin till the last possible moment.

At that moment, another person entered the house.

“Ah, what excellent timing,” Nalin exclaimed, “Erwin, this is Shih, the keeper of Kyoshi’s temple and possessions.” The man looked around fifty years old, and had a kind twinkle in his eyes.

Standing and bowing, Erwin had to duck lest he hit his head on the low roof. Shih grinned at him, “I’d heard a rumour about travellers. And one very special one at that,”

Nodding, Nalin took her place on her rocking chair, “This is Erwin, the son of the last Avatar,”

“It’s an honour to see you again,” Shih looked him up and down, “You certainly fit less well in here than you once did!”

Scratching his head sheepishly, Erwin admitted, “I’m sorry I don’t remember you. Or this place.”

“Well then,” he clapped his hands together, “it’ll be like seeing everything for the first time! Lucky you. Tell me, do you want to visit the temple?”

“Yeth polith,” Levi mumbled round a mouthful of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Levi. You’ll choke.”

With an exasperated look, Levi chewed before giving an almighty swallow that looked almost painful. He stood and bowed to Nalin, “I’m done, can we go now?”

Shih nodded, “I’ll lead the way.”

~~~~

The temple was tiny; much smaller than Erwin imagined it would be. Outside there was a large, unkempt statue of Kyoshi that could have done with a good lick of paint. Erwin began to wonder if it was a mistake to come here, but that changed once they got inside the temple and Levi pointed at a mural and a number of items carefully placed on display.

“Are these are really her things?!” The boy asked, peering at two large boots, “Look at the size of these shoes, Erwin!”

“She was the tallest Avatar to have ever lived, and the oldest. 230 years old she was when she died.” Shih’s chest was puffed up with pride, “And she was a fearsome warrior. Kyoshi created this island you know, to protect her people from conquering forces. She separated us from the mainland and we have been here ever since.”

“Shih?” A woman’s voice came from the entrance to the temple. She was petite and dressed just like the statue outside; a miniature Kyoshi.

Eyes smiling, Shih all but pushed the woman into the temple, “Ah, Petra, come in! Erwin, this is Petra, she trains the Kyoshi Warriors. And Petra, these are the newcomers visiting us. Erwin is the son of the last Avatar, and Levi is his friend.”

Erwin wondered when the day would come where Levi was considered the more important one of the pair and would get the initial introduction, while Erwin would be relegated to the role of friend.

“It’s an honour to meet you. I am Petra, head of the Kyoshi Warriors.” Behind her, around ten girls had gathered at the entrance to the temple led by Yia, all peering in and giggling.

“Who are the Kyoshi Warriors?” The air nomad asked curiously, looking her up and down.

A kind smile broke the rather solemn mask the makeup created on her face, “We are very highly trained fighters who protect our island from invaders. Our techniques are ancient, and based on Avatar Kyoshi’s style of fighting which incorporated movements from all four elements.”

“Wow! Can I practice with you?”

The group of girls behind Petra tittered, “The Kyoshi Warriors are girls! You can’t join,”

Then Yia piped up, “Well, he has a doll, so I guess he is a girl,” the group continued to laugh. “And what is he wearing? It hardly fits! It’s way too big!”

Looking as if he were about to cry, Levi turned away and looked at the ground.

“That’s enough,” Erwin said firmly, glaring at the group and shutting them up, “it’s unkind to be cruel to other people.” He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and felt him lean in towards him.

“Yes,” the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors was short, but quite fearsome in her attire and makeup, “that’s not the way of our people. Girls, you should be ashamed of yourselves. I’ll be having words with all your parents.” It seemed like this woman carried considerable weight in the community, for the girls shrank back at this threat and scurried off, “Levi,” she turned to the boy, kneeling down to his level, voice soft, “of course you can come and train with us. Perhaps in return you can teach us something too?”

Shy now, Levi couldn’t look at her, “Probably not, but I’ll try really hard.”

“I can tell.” She stood up and gave a supportive smile to Erwin, “Sadly grown men cannot join us.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go and train down at the beach for a while. Levi, will you be alright here? You can come and find me once you’re done and show me what you’ve learned today.”

The unshed brightness in Levi’s eyes cleared a little, and he managed a small nod. 

~~~~~

There was a stiff breeze down by the water’s edge. Large rocks surrounded the beautiful bay, and fine yellow sand rippled pleasantly underfoot on the beach. The sun shone and Erwin took off his shirt before beginning his warm-up.

The gaggle of pre-pubescent and teenaged girls had followed him down, and proceeded to sit on the grass and watch Erwin for the rest of the day, clapping and oooh-ing every time he performed even the simplest of Earth bending techniques.

As the sun was setting, the breeze vanished, and Erwin began to overheat from his exertions. Sweat was beginning to form on his face, and Erwin stopped for a minute to cool off, wading up his mid-calf in the water.

From the corner of his eye, Erwin saw Levi with his doll in hand climb as nimbly as a mountain goat up on top of a large rock, dressed in the traditional Kyoshi Warrior garb, minus the heavy armour, head wear and makeup.

Walking over towards him and waving, Erwin couldn’t wait to see what the boy had learned, and wished he too could have trained with the warriors, “Hi Levi, you have a good time?” He clambered up to sit beside the boy.

“I’m not Levi,” the tiny Kyoshi look-alike spoke in a funny high-pitched voice, giggling at his own joke, “I’m Avatar Kyoshi, your hero. Give me a hug!” His arms spread wide.

“Ha ha ha ha!” It really was very endearing and very funny, “Alright, if you insist,”

Levi looked terribly pleased as they embraced.

Fingering the green fabric, Erwin nodded in approval, “I like your outfit. It’s better than what I made you.”

“Petra said I could keep it. I really like it.”

It made Erwin stop and think. With this outfit and a doll, people would honestly think Levi was a tiny little earth nation girl. It might make their journey a bit safer, and really every little would help on this perilous adventure.

He smiled at Levi, “If you like it, then keep wearing it.”

“Even though it’s for girls?”

“It doesn’t matter. No one on the mainland will know that. Besides, it might confuse anyone trying to find us.”

“And what about my doll?”

“I like her. Do you want to bring her with us?”

Levi nodded.

“Good. She can help keep us company.”

They smiled at each other, and Erwin was sure his heart would burst with affection at how this little boy was so unafraid to wear his fragilities in front of him, believing with all his little heart that Erwin would love him regardless. And he was right.

They jumped down from the rock onto where the beach was pebbled at the water line.

“ERrrrr-WwiiiiNnnn!” Came a distant whiny call from across the beach. It was Yia. “Come back and do some more earth bending!” The other girls joined in and encouraged him to return.

Sighing, Erwin shook his head at Levi, hoping for a mutual sarcastic eye roll at the girls’ behaviour. Instead, Levi’s little face was downturned into the glummest frown Erwin had ever seen on a child. His grey eyes darted between the giggling girls calling out for Erwin, and Erwin himself. He couldn’t help but laugh, “Jealous, Levi?”

“No,” The boy turned away towards the sea with his arms crossed, “Not one bit.”

Trying to put his face into Levi’s line of vision, he gave a little grin, “You know, one day all the girls will chase you over me. You’ll see.”

Squatting down and toying with some stones, Levi sneered, “I don’t care about stupid girls,”

“No?”

“I don’t like girls,”

Vaguely remembering how it felt to be ten years old, Erwin placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder, and some of the tension ebbed away beneath his touch, “As you grow up those feelings will probably change. Believe it or not, when you become a teenager there won’t seem like there are enough girls in the whole world. And then maybe one day you’ll meet one very special girl and want to get married to her,”

Quietly, Levi asked, “What if I never like girls?”

Erwin winked, “When you hit puberty you will. I promise.”

An angular eyebrow shot up questioningly, “When I hit what?”

“Uhhhh-“ Erwin’s mind went blank.

Oops. That definitely felt like a talk for another day. Levi stared up at him expectantly.

Recovering as best he could, Erwin looked off into the distance, “-never mind. Just trust me. When you’re older, you’ll enjoy their company.”

“I doubt it.” Distractedly, the monk kicked a stone away towards the ocean. Through the soles of his feet, Erwin felt the vibration as soon as the little foot connected the pebble. The rock shot across the water’s surface, skimming into the distance twenty-thirty-forty times, before disappearing across the horizon, far beyond where Erwin’s eyes could see.

He stared.

_Was that earth bending?_

It had certainly felt like it. But Levi hadn’t seemed to even notice what he’d done. Hadn’t even been trying.

His head snapped around to look at Levi, “Do that again,”

Eyebrows raised, Levi asked, “What? Be jealous? Hate girls?”

“No, kick a stone out to sea.”

Confused, Levi lined up another bigger stone with his foot and drew his leg back further this time. When the inside of his foot contacted the stone in a sideways kick, the rock sailed straight out over the sea so quickly that in its path the water actually sprayed up in its wake. Erwin put a hand to his eyes to see if he could see how far it went.

“Woah,” whispered Levi, taken aback, “did I do that?”

Hardly breathing, Erwin replied, “Yeah,”

“Maybe it’s this outfit.” Levi plucked at the green kimono, “Maybe I’m channelling my inner earth bender.”

Face filled with pride, Erwin made a mental note to thank Petra for whatever she’d done today to kick-start Levi’s earth bending training, “Yes. Perhaps it’s being here where Kyoshi lived and loved to be.”

_Rumble rumble_

Grabbing his stomach, Erwin groaned, “Ha! I think that means it’s time to eat. I’m so hungry.”

“Me too. Let’s run and then the girls won’t be able to catch us!”

“Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

Knowing full well that Levi was faster than him, Erwin still gave the race a good try. Once back at Nalin’s, he panted as Levi grinned at him, seeming not short of breath in the slightest.

The old woman called them from inside, and they entered. She cooed and admired Levi’s outfit, getting him to spin around to show her how well it looked on him.

Sitting down in her rocking chair, she gave a broad, edentulous smile, “I once led the Kyoshi Warriors myself you know?”

“Really?” Without asking, Levi climbed up to sit on her knee and the old woman’s smile broadened as she wrapped her arms around him, “When?”

“For nearly twenty years. I was a real feisty gal, believe it or not! I taught Petra’s mother _and_ her grandmother!” Nalin shook her head, “I wish Yia would take such an interest. Did you have a good time today?”

“Yes!” Levi stared up at her in awe, “Petra showed me how to do different stances and use the fans. It was really fun. And we went to the temple and I saw how big Kyoshi’s feet were.”

“Little feet can carry you just as far,” her eyes twinkled as she wiggled Levi’s toes on one of his bare feet, “I should know,” Her own feet were miniscule in her tiny slippers. “Now, I’m sure you are hungry.”

One of the neighbouring houses brought a huge pot of stewed fish and fresh flat breads to share. Erwin was famished, and wondered how they made their food just so tasty here.

More people gathered in the house to chatter and meet Erwin, while Levi spoke quietly with Nalin in the corner. She seemed fascinated by the boy, and in turn he seemed oddly familiar with her. At one point, Levi fondly traced her wrinkled face with a finger like he had his doll, and she laughed and booped his nose in return, making him smile. The islanders didn’t seem to get many visitors and were fascinated by Erwin’s tales of his father and the world around them. Many of them had never left their island home. In return, they spoke of their own history and teachings.

Apparently meeting in this house was a common occurrence. Being too old to fish, farm or gather her own food, the villagers took care of Nalin, who in her own time as a younger woman had helped to rear and teach most of these people when they themselves were children. As the matriarch, and village elder, Nalin was the centre of village life. Once it grew late and dark, Erwin looked up at her and saw that Levi had fallen asleep on her lap with his doll gathered close. With Nalin tenderly stroking his back and rocking him, they were the picture of maternity.

“Ah, do you want me to take him?” Erwin stood to lift the boy, sure that her legs had probably gone numb long ago from his weight.

“I could hold him all day,” she said wistfully, stroking across his small eyebrows one last time before allowing Erwin to pick him up.

“Oh, Erwin!” Shih stopped him before he exited the house, “Gyorin has offered to take you across the water in his fishing boat tomorrow to the mainland if you would like. The Unagi seems to have vacated these waters and now we can travel safely once more. What a blessing!”

Erwin considered it, “We will be sad to leave so soon, but I suppose I can’t ignore such a generous offer. Please tell him we will be grateful for his assistance.”

Without Levi stirring once, Erwin said goodnight to everyone and walked across to the barn. The blankets Yia had laid on the straw made for a comfortable bed, and under them the hay smelled sweet and fragrant. Levi sighed and curled more tightly around his doll. Pulling a blanket over Levi, Erwin lay on his back and enjoyed having the room to spread out after so long together in their cramped bunk on the ship. He was exhausted, the stress from the last few days having caught up with him; what he wouldn’t have given to have stayed and rested longer. It would be sad to leave these friendly and generous people, but Levi still needed to get to the North Pole and opportunities for safe conduct couldn’t be turned down.

They both slept well, and Erwin only awoke long after the sun had risen by Levi quietly chattering to his toy. Erwin turned his head and saw Levi was lying with his back to him, making the doll dance and her hands wave. The kid was so cute.

The boy seemed to sense he was being watched, and he rolled over, “Morning,”

“Morning. We have passage to the mainland today."

“Oh," Levi's little face was solemn, "Do we have to go today?”

Rubbing a hand down his face, Erwin sighed, “Yeah, we do.” There was a slight stubble forming on his upper lip. Maybe one day he would be able to grow a mighty beard like his father had sported. “If I know fishermen, he’ll be wanting to leave early in the day. We’d better go and say goodbye.”

~~~~

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sail today,” Gyorin frowned staring at the flag on his roof, “There isn’t a breath of wind in the air,” He sucked his finger and held it up, “Nothing. Not the tiniest breeze.”

Glancing down, Erwin gave Levi a knowing look. The air nomad nodded and took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes. Suddenly the flag lifted up briskly into the air, flapping and dancing excitedly in the gusts now filling the sky.

“Well, would you look at that,” the seasoned fisherman gawped, “and just in the right direction too.”

Grinning and winking at the air nomad who pulled a face in return, Erwin grabbed Levi’s staff and slung their bag onto his back. Gyorin led them down to the jetty, escorted by the entire village. Nalin hobbled along with her walking stick in one hand, and Levi’s hand in the other. Once at the shore, the boy stood silently as Nalin hugged him and blanketed him with kisses goodbye; it was heart breaking to watch when Levi physically struggled to let go of her afterwards. The two had grown inordinately close in such a short period of time. Next it was Erwin’s turn, and he had to kneel to allow her to ply him with equal amounts of love and affection, knowing that it was probably the last time they would meet again.

“Good luck Erwin,” she whispered in his ear as she held him close, “I know you will keep him safe,”

“Who? Levi?”

“Yes. Beware of being too trusting and letting anyone know about him.”

Erwin stiffened, “What about him?”

But Nalin just laughed, “Some friendships last more than one lifetime, Erwin. I may be old, but my heart hasn’t failed me yet. You think I wouldn’t recognise your father on seeing him again?”

Erwin could have wept as she spoke. She had worked it out, from the moment they had met it seemed.

“You will grow up to be a wonderful man, just like your father. I’m so pleased to have seen you both together again, so happy and full of life.” She held his large face in her tiny hands, “Take care, my dear.”

~~~~

Gyorin waved to them to embark on the little wooden fishing boat waiting for them. As they set sail, Erwin waved goodbye and called out his thanks over and over again. Petra and Shih waved back, and Nalin leaned on her stick shedding large tears.

The group of girls had once again gathered, and had up until now been smiling and waving as the boat sailed away. But suddenly they began glaring, arms crossing and looking horribly sulky. The blonde looked down at where their stares were directed. Levi was practically hanging off his arm, Erwin’s large hand held in both the boy’s smaller ones. The air nomad was pulling faces at the watching girls and sticking his tongue out.

“Levi, be nice,” Erwin scolded gently.

The boy huffed and sneered at the girls, then snuggled even closer to Erwin’s side. Soon the waving figures on the beach disappeared on the horizon, the statue of Kyoshi was the only one left watching them leave.

The little boat shot along the surface of the water. “I’ve never seen wind like it!” Gyorin whooped as they flew towards the mainland, “The wind is blowing directly into the sails as if it knows where we want to go,”

“Really?” Erwin looked around. Levi was hunkered down near the starboard side talking to his doll again, not paying the slightest bit of attention to the air bending he seemed to be unconsciously doing. It was quite incredible.

~~~~~

The kind fisherman took them all the way to Makapu Village, a town of small dwellings and shops sat at the foot of an enormous dormant volcano. At least, Erwin hoped it was dormant. As the boat turned back to Kyoshi, Levi changed the direction of the wind and soon the little fishing vessel was but a tiny speck in the distance.

“Aunt Wu is waiting for you,”

Erwin jumped, startled by the sound of a girl’s voice behind him. A little girl with wonky teeth and braided pigtails was grinning at them both.

“Aunt Wu?” Levi tore his gaze away from the other child and peered up at Erwin, “You have family here?”

Shaking his head, Erwin regarded the little girl standing with them on the beach, “No,”

“She’s the fortune teller here in Makapu. She reads the clouds, the fire and palms to predict the future,” she explained, grin widening to showing off several more crooked little teeth.

“Really?” Erwin replied, vaguely remembering a story his father had once told him about a village with a volcano who relied on such predictions, “Does she predict something about volcanoes?”

Nodding furiously, the girl grinned, “Yes! She tells us whether the village will be destroyed by the volcano every year by reading the clouds. She said this year we’d be fine.”

“Sounds like bullshit to me,” Levi murmured.

“Language.” Erwin chided gently. “Though I don’t know,” he was thoughtful, stroking his chin, “My father seemed to believe she had real abilities. If it’s the same person of course.”

“And who are _you_?” Levi asked rather rudely.

“I’m Meng!” Meng pointed at herself, “I’m Aunt Wu’s assistant. She sent me down here to come and fetch you” She pointed at the bundle in Levi’s arms, “I like your doll. I have a doll too. Wanna come and play?”

Levi looked up at Erwin hopefully.

Chuckling, Erwin put a hand on both childrens’ shoulders. “Let’s go and see Aunt Wu, and while I talk with her, you and Meng can play.”

With a whoop, Meng grabbed Levi by the hand and dragged him down the road, chatting excitedly about tea parties. Erwin smiled as he watched the two children. Soon they reached a large wooden building in the town with a woman waiting outside, who could only be the fortune teller.

Leaning heavily on a metal walking stick and wearing a beautiful purple kimono, Aunt Wu nodded at Erwin, “Come in and eat. I’ve been expecting you.”

The two weary travellers sat down gratefully on two very comfortable cushions. Meng handed them bowls of bean-curd puffs, then set about bringing over what looked a real china tea set and her doll, which appeared much more expensive and in much better condition than Levi’s.

“This is Zanni. Zanni, this is-“ she looked at Levi, “What’s your name?”

Turning his head towards Erwin, Levi looked pleadingly at him, unsure what to say.

“Uh,” the wheels turned slowly in Erwin’s head. He felt like an idiot. Why hadn’t they come up with a girl’s name for Levi? “Well, I’m Erwin. And this is-uh- Leah. Leah, tell Meng a bit about yourself,”

Phew. Close one.

‘Leah’ scowled at him, but then began to talk animatedly about her ragdoll and how much she loved tea and bean curd puffs.

The internal door slid open and Aunt Wu hobbled out, “Who wants to go first?”

Levi was busy munching through both bowls of fried snacks and the first of what he was sure would be many cups of tea, so Erwin decided he would start. He stood and stretched, “Lead the way.”

Opening another door, Aunt Wu bade him to enter and sit kneeling as she did beside a fire burning in the middle of the room.

Sprinkling some sort of dust over the flames to make them briefly change colour and billow smoke, Aunt Wu said, “I can tell that you are on a long journey,”

Erwin had to work very hard to stop his eyes from rolling. It was blatantly obvious they had come a long way and no one needed any psychic powers to see that. The woman continued, apparently unaware of Erwin’s scepticism of her abilities thus far, “It will be an experience filled with old and new friends, and littered with foes. A journey to the very ends of the earth.”

 _She got that right_ , he supposed. But he was yet to be convinced.

She carried on, oblivious still to his dubiety, “But your real exodus will be an inner one. Of learning to accept and love yourself and others for who they truly are. Though some steps on your journey will be harder and lonelier than others, never begrudge a single one. If you can survive the war that you battle within yourself, you will survive anything.”

They sat in silence, the small sticks crackling in the fire between them. He didn’t understand. It was all so vague. What was she talking about?

She straightened her back, “Now, more specifically what would you like to know about?”

Despite his mounting disbelief that this woman had any real powers, Erwin couldn’t help but think of Marie, the girl he had once thought of marrying. Was she still back in their village? Or had she married Nile from the town down the river?

“What about love?” He asked.

Pointing to a pile of dry bones, Aunt Wu replied, “Choose a bone and throw it on the fire.”

He took his time, eventually picking a thick bone that may once have been a chicken thigh, and tossed it onto the smouldering coals.

The embers dimmed as they transferred their heat to it, the room quiet and still. Then suddenly the bone fragmented and exploded with a deafening crack, the fire fully reviving and radiating heat. The flames leaped and laughed high into the air like a playful child before burgeoning into beauty, foliating in gold. They both reeled back in shock and to prevent being burned by the spray of fragments.

“Oh my!” Aunt Wu cried, covering her mouth, “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before!”

“What does it mean?” Erwin trembled in his excitement. Perhaps it would mean he would have an especially passionate lover.

“Well,” regaining her composure, Aunt Wu took a breath, “from my reading, you will fall in love with a fire bender. And a very powerful one at that.”

Mouth agape, Erwin stared in horror, “No, you must be mistaken. Let me try again.”

Aunt Wu looked doubtful, “Hmmm. Alright. You may try once more.”

This time he picked as different a bone as he could find; a small thin wish bone was thrown onto the fire. The room was silent for a moment while the bone heated. Then once again, the fire roared into life, hot bony shrapnel flying out across the room.

Cowering behind her forearms, Aunt Wu looked stunned, “I’m afraid the answer is the same.”

“It isn’t possible,” he said, jaw set firmly. “I wouldn’t be compatible with anyone from the Fire Nation.”

“Oh? I think you’ll find that you will be more than compatible with such a person as this.” She gestured to the fire, “Fire and passion. Rage and beauty. Love and hate. There is not one without the other; all originate from and need each-other.”

Snorting, Erwin made to stand, “Well, love and fire don’t mix.”

“It’s strange.” Her voice took on a strange and distant quality, “The comparison of fire to love. How it begins with a spark, then a glowing, consuming feeling circling around you until it reaches the very core of the soul, as it streaks heart of through the body then finds the heart. Sometimes love strikes as quickly as wildfire through a dry plain, or may build as a slow burn that you hardly notice until it grows too large to extinguish."  
  


Glaring at the woman who he was now completely convinced was a total fraud, Erwin tried to work out how to get out of the room as quickly as he could, with as much politeness as he could muster.

She looked up at him as he stood, “Fire and love may seem to you as different as night is to day. But none the less, both consume and may warm a being,” Aunt Wu poked her rod at the bone fragments, crumbling them to dust, “Or leave one with nothing but ashes,”

“Thank you,” Erwin bowed, “I need to check on Leah.”

“Send the child in next,” she ordered without looking up from the fire.

Rolling his eyes now that she couldn’t see him, he went out to try and convince Levi to not go into the fortune teller. He was happily pretending that his doll was drinking a cup of tea and chatting to his new friend.

“What happened to your hair?” Meng pointed at the little bald head. Erwin stopped, worried that the girl may be onto them.

Levi shrugged. “Lice,”

“Oh, I had them once. So itchy! I had to have all my hair cut too!” And just like that, the problem of the missing hair was forgot.

“Is it my turn, Erwin?” Grey eyes peered up at him.

“Only if you want to go.”

“Sure. Let’s see how much she gets right.”

Sitting back down on the plump cushions, Erwin tried to forget the daft woman’s words. She was mad. Crazed. Him? Fall in love with a fire bender? Not possible. Not ever. For a start, he would have to get to know one and he had no intention of wasting time befriending such people. Maybe if he met one who had defected he might grow to know them. But even then, could he ever truly trust them? He already knew the answer to that.

The sun was close to setting by the time Levi came out. He looked pleased.

“What did you talk about?” Erwin asked after they’d said goodbye and made a bed for the night under the stars just outside the village. There were a few wispy clouds floating above them, and the night was warm and pleasant. With Levi nearby, there was no breeze and no chance of getting truly cold overnight.

Smugly, Levi closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head, “Who I’m gonna marry one day.”

“Oh?” Erwin grinned, “And what did she tell you?”

“That if I tell anyone then it won’t come true.”

“I see. Did she work out you were the Avatar?”

The boy shrugged, “Not that she said. She spent a long time not saying much at all, just throwing random shit into the fire, watching it all explode lots and then looking at me strangely.”

Erwin laughed, “Yeah, she did that with me too,”

“I was sure the house was gonna burn down at one point,”

Just as Erwin was starting to nod off, he was startled awake by a shocked gasp.

“What was that?!” Levi sat bolt upright.

“What?” Erwin looked around, seeing nothing.

“Like giant footsteps. Listen.”

“I can’t hear any-“

“With your feet!”

Then Erwin felt it. Seismic waves rippled up through the ground, reverberating through his very core. They were huge, slow and lumbering but far away, and it had made them almost indiscernible.

He stared at Levi in disbelief, “Do you feel that, Levi?”

“Yeah. What is it?”

Jaw open incredulously, thrilled that Levi could sense the movement of the earth without training, Erwin tried to think sensibly, “I-I think the volcano is at risk of erupting. I think this is the earth shifting beneath us, indicating that lava is on the move. Liquid earth.”

“The volcano? When will it happen?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe tomorrow?” He began to pack away his sleeping roll, “We have to get the villagers to evacuate before the village is destroyed.”

“But Aunt Wu said-“

“Aunt Wu is a fraud,” Erwin almost spat out. He tried to calm down, “But unfortunately these villagers listen to her. What can we do?” The townsfolk’s blind faith in the woman was terribly problematic. Erwin’s mind conjured the memory of the clouds circling high in whirling patterns above Levi when he gave his performance at the air temple, and he turned to the boy, “Maybe we can use that to our advantage,”

“How?”

“You can manipulate the clouds. Then Aunt Wu will read them and the village can be evacuated.”

Frowning, Levi shook his head, “But I don’t know what shapes to make.” The boy looked thoughtful for a while, “Meng said Aunt Wu has a book that tells her how to forecast the future from the clouds.”

“We need to get that book,” the earth bender stood and looked over in the direction of Aunt Wu’s, “the only problem is how we going to get in to find it.”

Throwing a cheeky glance, Levi smirked, “Through the front door. Obviously,”

He supposed it was worth a try. Maybe in such a small place they didn’t lock their doors at night. Unfortunately, the handle wouldn’t budge when Erwin tried to lever it down after they’d crept through the town to the building, “No, the door is-“

“Of course it’s locked, dumbass!” Levi snorted, “Let _me_ take care of the door,”

With dextrous ease, Levi knelt down and used a needle from their sowing kit to pick the lock, and with a soft snick, he was able to pull down the handle and open the door. Erwin raised a big eyebrow.

Levi shrugged, “Thief, remember?”

“What exactly did you used to steal again?” He whispered as they searched for the book among the shelves. The boy’s answer caused Erwin’s heart to clench painfully.

“I was hungry. All I ever wanted was food and water.”

Silently they continued their search, “I don’t know what I’m looking for,” Levi whispered, “I can’t read properly,”

“I got it!” Tucked away near the top of the bookshelf, Erwin pulled down the dog-eared tome. “Let’s get out of here,”

Leaving and locking the door behind them, the boys sprinted back and lit a small fire at their campsite to better pore over the diagrams in the book.

“Alright, let’s see. Volcano……volcano…..” Erwin turned the pages, scrutinising the text under the strange pictures.

“Oh!” Levi pointed at a bunny cloud, “How about this one?”

Screwing his eyes to read in the dim light, Erwin said, “It means someone you love is watching you from the spirit world,”

“And what about this one?”

It was a fluffier bunny cloud.

“That means ‘Doom and destruction’.”

“I could do that too, for fun,” Levi grinned.

“Let’s have fun after we save the village, huh?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Ah ha! Here!” The blonde pointed at a creepy skull cloud, “’Volcanic doom’. Perfect! This is what you need to do. Can you make this shape?”

Anxiety gnawed at him. It was going to be a very long night for Levi to learn to make something this intricate in the dark. Erwin wasn’t sure he could sculpt a rock into a skull easily with his bending- he wasn’t exactly the greatest artist.

Levi stood, put his hands together, exhaled and turned on the spot, swooping his hands around in a fluid gesture.

Then he plopped down again. “Yup.”

Erwin looked around, “Is that it?”

“I got it.”

“What, it’s done?”

“Yeah.”

“In the sky?” The night was pitch black around them, “I can’t see anything.”

“Yeah, obviously Erwin, you can’t see it cos it’s dark. But it’s there.”

Staring up at the sky, Erwin could just make out something that might have looked like a skull, but in the inky sky it was impossible to see.

“Maybe make it really scary tomorrow morning. Really big or something.”

Levi nodded and drew his legs up to his chest, “Okay. What about you? Can you bend lava?”

“No, I think that’s a fire bending technique.”

“Why?”

“Cos it’s hot.”

Grey eyes narrowed, “But it’s also rock, right?”

Erwin looked at his own hands, “Even if it was an earth bending technique, I’m not going to be able to learn it by morning, Levi.”

“So the villagers will evacuate when Aunt Wu sees the skull and tells them to run. But what about their homes? They’ll still be destroyed.” Levi snapped his fingers, “What if I air bend? I could cool the lava and form a barrier.”

“That’ll be our last resort. It might give away who you really are if someone sees you. They think you’re an earth bender.” Pondering the dilemma, Erwin watched the fire crackling, “I could dig trenches to divert the flow, and put up a barrier of rock. It would buy some time for the lava to cool at least.”

“Yeah.” Levi sighed, “I don’t think I’m gonna sleep well tonight.”

“No,” Erwin agreed, “me neither.”

~~~~

As the birds began to sing to the dawn in the morning, Erwin roused the dozing boy beside him and they began to execute their plan.

Erwin ran and banged on the door of Aunt Wu’s house, “Aunt Wu!!” He yelled, “The clouds, come and see!”

A groggy looking Aunt Wu appeared at the door, her hair uncoiffed and face grumpy, “Clouds?”

“Yes, look!” Erwin pointed into the air behind him, knowing Levi was getting to work now that the sun had risen; the sky had filled with early red light, accentuating the cauldron of Mt. Makapu which had started to glow with the heat inside now at boiling point and dying to escape.

Erwin’s shouting had summoned other villagers from their repose, and one by one they all began to emerge from their houses to see what the ruckus was about.

Glowering, Aunt Wu’s gaze tracked to where Erwin was pointing in the sky. Suddenly she screamed, and covered her mouth with her hands, “Oh my!!!”

The villagers all looked up too and a collective gasp went up. Erwin smirked and turned to also look up to see how similar Levi’s cloud skull was to the one in the book.

His mouth dropped open. It seemed to do that a lot around this boy.

In the sky was a simply enormous and horrifying skull, its mandible snapping open and shut, the sun behind it making its eyes seem to glow red with a terrible light. And all around it, repeated hundreds of times, were other skulls. Big ones, small ones; some were high up in the stratosphere, others came eerily close to the rooves of the houses, all moving in ghostly trails through the sky.

It was a truly terrifying sight.

Children began crying and one man developed a large wet patch at the front of his pants. Erwin sympathised. He himself was scared, and he knew it was only Levi having fun.

“Volcanic doom! Evacuate the village!” Aunt Wu shrieked, causing the townsfolk to start screaming, grab their children and run for dear life.

In the pandemonium, Erwin tried to find Levi. Through his feet, Erwin could sense that eruption was imminent. The lava underground felt fast flowing and it would be down the mountainside in minutes. Unfortunately, the only thing he never seemed to be able to sense this way was Levi himself.

When the top of Mt. Makapu finally did blow, it was with a deafening bang. Hot gas shot out along with the lava, and a mushroom cloud appeared, growing miles into the air. Soon it would start cooling and drop like an avalanche back towards the ground and engulf everyone in the vicinity; a pyroclastic flow. No one could hope to outrun that. Damnit. They were too late.

As swiftly as the wind, Levi appeared as a speck up in the air with his staff wings erect, slipping through the fingers of the surly bonds of the earth. The mass of air and liquid rock making its way down towards them was surely an impossible match for the little boy.

“Levi!” Erwin moved towards him, trying to roar over the sound of the eruption, “We have to run,”

But in his heart, he knew they couldn’t. The huge cloud now blotted out the sun, the only light now emitted from the lava pouring down towards the village. But as Erwin watched the boy high in the air, his fear vanished and Erwin’s world narrowed down to only Levi.

Levi danced through the sky; sunward he climbed, joining the tumbling mirth of dust and ash trying and now failing to rain down against the blasts of air following Levi as he flew. He chased the shouting winds, up, up, up into the delirious burning red sky. He topped the windswept heights with effortless grace, where never lark or even eagle flew before, into the untrespassed sanctity of the skies. Finally, beams of sunlight started to show through the cloud and there Levi remained, high in the sunlit silence. Slowly, the cloud began to tumble down the other side of the volcano away from the village, towards the sea and suddenly was no longer a danger.

The slower tsunami of lava was another matter. Relentlessly it continued its crawl towards Makapu. Erwin brought himself back to the moment and began to create walls of rock angled away from the village, trying to dam the flow. Then in horizontal lines leading away from him, he dug huge trenches into the ground to channel away the rivers of lava. Levi joined him, landing on top of the stone wall and began spinning his staff to guide air along the ground to cool the top of the lava. Then he took a huge inhale and blew. With the force of a hurricane, the wind whooshed forth, forcing the lava back into odd, solid, windswept shapes. And yet, more and more still spewed out continuously from the volcano’s cauldron. It was going to overwhelm them eventually.

Through the loud bubbling of liquid rock, Levi shouted, “Maybe I should ask for help?”

“From who?” Erwin yelled up at him, “There’s no one here but us!”

“Yes there is,” Levi clenched his left fist and encompassed it in his right hand in front of him, closing his eyes and bowing his head. As Erwin darted around, desperately trying to stave off the lava, he grew frustrated at Levi’s lack of assistance.

“Levi!” Erwin implored, “Do something!”

“I’m doing it! Shut up!” Came an annoyed voice back.

“We don’t have time for thi-“

A whirlwind of air blew up around the air nomad, and when it died down, a towering figure stood in his place. She looked like one of the Kyoshi Warriors, except she was so tall she would have made Mike look short.

Erwin gasped. It couldn’t be. But it was. It was Avatar Kyoshi, in the flesh.

She regarded the scene unfolding before her for a moment. Then with a fan in each hand, she performed some of the most spectacular earth bending moves Erwin ever had the privilege of witnessing, but he couldn’t work out what exactly it was achieving. Then she stood still and her dispassionate voice rang out, “Stop.”

The order reverberated up the side of Mt Makapu, echoing in Erwin’s ears long after the single utterance had been spoken. The lava stopped in its tracks and the cauldron ceased bubbling. In agonising death throes, the volcano gave a few pathetic gasps and wheezed once final time, before becoming breathless, condemned to lie dormant once again.

Silence reigned as ash rained down around him. Through it all Kyoshi stood looking unaffected and unafraid. Erwin stepped back as she turned to regard him with her stoic expression, made even more intimidating by her makeup and headdress.

“Erwin.” She said.

 _She said my name!_ Erwin’s mind screamed at him, _She knows who I am!_

He dropped to his knees in the soft, white ash and bowed, “Avatar Kyoshi. Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“By keeping your promise.” Her voice was unsurprisingly deep.

“My promise?” He looked up at her in confusion.

Her eyes burned down at him, “To stay by my side, no matter what.”

It was the promise he had made to Levi on the ship. Astonished that she would question his loyalty, he nodded and moved towards her, “Yes, of course.”

The statuesque woman nodded gravely, “I hope so, for the boy’s sake. Did you know that my own parents were marauding bandits?”

He hadn’t known that. Shih hadn’t mentioned it at the temple. He shook his head mutely.

She watched his reaction before continuing, “I was abandoned as an impoverished orphan with no one to guide me or show me kindness. As a result, I felt I had to hide who I truly was. As such, I feel an affinity with young Levi. We are not so different him and I. None of us are, Erwin. Never forget it.” Her eyes pierced him with startling intensity. Without smiling, she closed her eyes and lowered her head, “Perhaps one day, we will meet again.”

Then the wind picked up and began swirling around her, vanishing and leaving a small boy swaying on his feet in her place. Erwin leapt up to steady him, noting the huge boot prints in the ash around where Levi’s tiny bare feet now stood.

“Did we do it?” Levi was exhausted, eyes hardly open.

“Yeah,” the earth bender said quietly, “We did it.”

~~~~

Carrying the now-limp boy in his arms, Erwin made his way towards where the villagers had evacuated. He intended to give them a slightly altered version of the truth: that their village was safe thanks to their earth bending prowess. Levi’s face was smudged and dirty from the volcanic dust, and Erwin was sure he looked the same. A wash sounded wonderful right now.

The Avatar soon wakened and yawned, staring up past Erwin’s face into the sky, prompting Erwin to also look up. Above them was a rabbit shaped cloud floating lazily across the now blue sky.

“You trying out some other shapes, Levi?”

“No, I just did the skulls,”

“What about that bunny?”

Squinting and turning his head slightly, Levi pursed his lips, “It’s not a bunny, it’s a duck.”

“It’s a bunny.”

“A duck.” Levi retorted, sticking his tongue out at him, “What does a duck mean?”

“It means you stole my book,” Aunt Wu’s stern voice boomed as she appeared from behind a large rock, causing Erwin and Levi both to startle and stare guiltily at her, “and tampered with my cloud forecasting.”

Levi climbed down from Erwin’s grasp and stood on trembling legs, “We put it back,” he said.

She sighed, “I suppose it was all for a good cause.”

A fine layer of white ash covered the ground and the rooves of the buildings. The villagers were slowly returning, shock evident on their faces at coming so close to death yet somehow narrowly escaping its grasping clutches.

Erwin sighed and looked at Levi. They would have to move on again, lest someone else worked out that Levi wasn’t all he appeared to be. It was clear that it hadn’t just been earth benders at work, especially with the way the cloud of hot gas was redirected.

Meng had appeared and ran to embrace Levi who stood rather stiffly as he endured her hug. The two children began to fret about their dolls, both probably lying somewhere under a pile of ash.

 _If only Levi knew fire bending,_ Erwin thought. He would have been able to halt the lava without even trying and no one would have been any the wiser.

“Don’t worry. One day he _will_ become a powerful fire bender.” Aunt Wu said quietly.

Eyes wide, Erwin turned towards the Fortune Teller beside him, “Pardon?” Catching himself quickly, Erwin cleared his throat as he regarded Aunt Wu’s profile, “ _She’s_ from the earth nation, as you can well see.”

Aunt Wu threw him an amused look, “He has incredible potential, and I’m sure that as the son of the last Avatar that you will care for him and guide him well.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” He said unconvincingly. Shit. How did all these old women recognise them for what they were?

She continued to watch Levi and Meng, “You don’t have to admit to any of it.”

Trying hard to control his breathing, Erwin whispered, “How can you possibly know?”

“Fortune teller and psychic, remember?” She tapped her temple and gave him a wink. “I sense you have a very special bond with this boy. One that cannot easily be broken. You are lucky. Not everyone in life finds so deep and beautiful a relationship.”

Deciding it was safest to not say anything, Erwin walked away and tried to stop his teeth grinding together from stress. He had to plan where to go next once they dusted off their things and headed on their way again. He called over to Levi and they made their way back to their campsite. As he’d thought, everything was blanketed in warm ash. Levi found his staff and doll, trying to shake her free from her covering of fine shards, while Erwin grabbed his backpack and their sleeping rolls.

“I guess we’re on the move again, huh Erwin?”

“Yup. Onto the next adventure.” Erwin looked around to orientate himself, “Now, which way is north?”

Levi slipped his hand into Erwin’s and closed his eyes. “That way,” he pointed off into the distance.

Raising an eyebrow, Erwin was about to ask how Levi could sense that, when a familiar voice sounded in his ear.

“Erwin?” The annoying Fortune Teller was behind him again.

He turned and gave a small civil smile, “Yes, Aunt Wu?”

“One last piece of advice.” She murmured so quietly that Erwin was sure Levi couldn’t hear her, “Fire never dies, it merely smoulders, lying dormant like the volcano. And like love you need to fan it to keep the flame alive. Like the smouldering embers that need only a little attention to become a flame again, so the parting lovers need only to kiss to ignite the flame, and start the passion once again.”

Confused yet again, he shook his head at her, “I don’t understand,” and giving her one last look over his shoulder, he began to walk away with Levi by his side. He just about managed to catch her final words before she herself turned away.

She gave a mysterious smile. “One day, you will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where will they go next? Please forgive me if you are a hardcore fan and feel that my geography of this world is way way off.
> 
> Would love to hear your thoughts on how this is going. I personally can't wait for them to both fully grow up, but it will be some time yet.


	5. Born to perdure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a chat with blindmasks, I decided to do a nice little chapter where they just hang out and enjoy each other's company. I hope you like it!

“Can I have another apple?”

The sound of his charge’s stomach rumbling was louder than the question he asked, and Erwin turned his head to look down at the skinny boy, who was gazing pleadingly up at him.

He sighed and fished the last red apple out of his leather rucksack, “Alright, just this once.” Levi took it with both hands and chomped an enormous bite out of it. Erwin patted his head, “We have to be careful with our money. I haven’t got a lot on me.”

The apple was soon demolished; it wasn’t enough for the growing child, especially not with the energy Levi expended playing and learning along the way. It hurt Erwin deeply to be unable to care for Levi the way he wanted, but this journey had never been part of his original plan and he hadn’t brought a lot of money. Air benders didn’t even have any forms of currency, so bringing cash had seemed unnecessary. Inhaling through his nose, Erwin steeled himself for his inevitable hunger later, having already planned on skipping a meal himself to stretch what they had further.

“Why didn’t you say so?” Levi hopped on top of a rock to look Erwin directly in the eyes, “I’ll keep on the lookout for coins and stuff we can sell. People are always dropping jewelery and trinkets all over the place. You for one.”

Erwin gave a harrumph of laughter and reached out to touch Levi's half of the pendant. “Alright,” he gave the boy a stern look, “but no banditry or stealing from people,”

“No,” Levi agreed.

It turned out that Levi had exceptional talent for finding coins and small treasures. Whether long buried, lying lost and forgotten by travelers at the roadside, or sunken deep underwater, the boy seemed to be able to hone in on metal objects like a magpie. He would run ahead of Erwin on the long road to Omashu and dart back with shining pieces of bronze or silver, charms, small rings, pins and bejeweled brooches.

Erwin began to run out of pocket space to keep them all in, and attached a few of the pins to his own clothes and wore a few pieces of the jewelery on his person to make room for the coins Levi kept bringing him. One find in particular was a beautiful lapis lazuli gemstone set in a pendant, that Levi had told him reminded him of Erwin’s eyes; he considered whether he could afford to keep it for himself rather than selling it.

In the midday sun, the air bender flew overhead in large circles, visible as just a pin prick in the vast blue sky. As he walked beneath the flitting shadow, Erwin looked up to watch him to pass the time. To Levi, Erwin realised he must seem terribly slow and lumbering down on the ground. At one point, the boy dipped down into a small oasis of trees that appeared to be a few miles away. After a few minutes, Erwin saw what he thought was a sandstorm approaching, but it turned out just to be Levi dashing towards him over the ground.

“Come on, Erwin,” Levi tugged on his cloak, beckoning him to come follow. Acknowledging that there must have been something worth finding for Levi to take them out of their way like this, he changed course and headed towards the circle of trees in the near distance. Once in the shade of the palm trees, Levi stomped his little foot on a featureless patch of dirt covered by old brush and looked up at the tall earth bender.

“There’s something metal under here. Lots of little metal things. Coins maybe. It feels like gold.”

Raising an eyebrow, Erwin asked, “You can tell the difference?”

“Yeah. Some metals are softer feeling, and I can tell if they are one type of metal. These feel pure and soft, so it’s probably gold.”

Excited to see if Levi was right, Erwin got into stance and forced up 5 feet of sand and soil from the ground.

“Stop!” Levi shouted when he had dug deep enough. He jumped down into the hole and blew away a thin layer of dry soil, continuing to dig with his bare hands. Suddenly a small hand shot up; Levi stood triumphantly clutching a shining gold coin and flicked it over to Erwin with his thumb to inspect it.

Staring at the gold and then peering into the hole again, Erwin’s eyes went wide at seeing that they had uncovered a cache of thousands of golden coins in an old broken pot, far too many to carry. Alongside the money, Levi fished out a collection of gold and silver chains, tiny statues, spoons, cups and gold plate. Astounded at Levi’s instincts and ability to sense metal, Erwin scrutinised the coin more closely. The date stamp on the coin suggested it was hundreds of years old, and judging by the look of the treasure it was worth a great deal indeed. He wondered who had left it here, realising that it was unlikely someone in living memory judging by the way that the oasis vegetation had grown over the ground it lay under.

Any concerns Erwin had as to how they were going to afford enough to eat and find comfortable lodgings to sleep at night vanished.

“So,” Erwin scooped up handfuls of gold and pocketed some of the more valuable looking pieces. There was one ring in particular he would keep for Mike. “Is this how you got by in the slums?”

Levi shrugged, filling his own pockets with jangling coins. “Sort of. My mom died when I was little, and some guy found me a few days later and took me in. I’d never met him before, but he gave me food and kept me safe.”

Not wanting anyone else to find the treasure they were unable to lift, Erwin replaced the sand and dirt, and the two headed back towards the main road. “Where is he now? Is he alive?”

“I guess he’s probably still back in the city I was born in, but he could be dead or have moved on once he realised I was captured and they were onto us.”

“Do you think he could be your father?”

Looking off into the distance, Levi said softly, “I don’t know who my father is, remember? Mom said she didn’t know either.”

“So he took you in out of the goodness of his heart?” It didn’t seem impossible. Levi was very loveable, at least to Erwin anyway.

“I don’t really know why he took me in. I guess he just knew my mom and felt bad for me.” Perking up, Levi gave a swashbuckling arm pump, “At the start we were lone operators. Just him and me surviving day-to-day on petty theft. Then one day I fell off a high roof while messing around, but managed to air bend somehow and landed on the ground without hurting myself. After that, I began to have dreams at night where I was air bending with this random guy. A few weeks later, I discovered that I could make clay pots and metal things move towards me. Kenny got me to practice until I was really good at it, then we hit the jewelery stores, banks and museums, and target people wearing nice gold rings and stuff. I would escape by air bending, until one day the police and Shadis caught me in a trap.” He seemed disappointed in himself as he spoke. “He taught me how to use a knife too and slit a man’s throat. I could have done it when they caught me, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill.”

”That is a good thing.” Erwin assured him, placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “It _shouldn’t_ be easy to kill a person.” He paused. “So if he knew you could air bend and bend metal and clay, he must have worked out that you were the avatar?”

“If he did, he never said. I didn’t really know it at the time either. I thought the avatar was a fairy tale” Looking unsettled now, Levi scuffed his foot into the dust along the ground, “You know, I didn’t want to commit crimes. All I wanted was food and toys and somewhere safe to sleep. And someone to look after me. I didn’t want all that shiny shit. But it made him happy and I thought it was the only way to get him to love me. I didn’t want to be left alone again.”

Kneeling to the boy’s level, Erwin gently grasped the small chin to angle Levi’s face up to his own, “I believe you. Now you won’t be alone, and all I ask from you is your friendship.”

“You have it. I’m your soul friend, remember? Together we are whole. Mom would be happy that I found you. I’m glad I got caught now, otherwise we might never have met.” He slipped his tiny hand into Erwin’s, and they continued to walk.

With every little conversation and gesture from the boy, it felt less and less like Erwin was getting to know Levi, and more and more like he was remembering who he was. Every small action and expression seemed familiar, and brought him closer to the impossible conclusion that they _had_ known each other before; that they had _loved_ each other before- in another time, another place, some other existence.

It made Erwin wonder; did this man Kenny suspect all along that Levi was the avatar? Was that the true reason he had come and taken him under his wing? Well, whatever life lessons this Kenny had tried to instill in Levi, the boy seemed to lack the man’s ruthlessness and callous mentality, and Erwin was grateful to Shadis for rescuing him from such a life.

“So, how did you get caught and sent to the Southern Air Temple?”

Levi hummed, “Kenny got me to try and steal something called the Heart of Kai from a bank vault, but we were rumbled and the police and Shadis set up a trap. I got caught and they took me away. That’s it.”

Eyebrows pinching together, Erwin felt a memory trying to come to the fore, “I’ve heard of that. It’s a diamond, right?”

“Yeah, shit it was a fucking huge one.” Levi made a shape with his hands of something resembling a large rock.

“Language,”

“Yes, it was,” Levi corrected himself. “A fucking huge one,”

Sighing and realising that it was going to be baby steps all the way, Erwin remarked, “ My friend is a jeweler; what he wouldn’t give to have something like that.”

As they walked, Levi took his hand again and swung his arm so that Erwin’s was forced to swing high too, “It’s a dumb name for a diamond, if you ask me.”

“Why? The name reflects its beauty.”

“And makes people want to steal it.” Levi pointed out, not incorrectly. “If I ever find a huge diamond, I’ll name it Dogshit Diamond, then no one would want it,”

Snorting out a laugh, Erwin pulled Levi in for a sideways hug as they walked, giving him a noogie with his other hand, “Well if you ever find such a thing and don’t want it, give it to me.” Under his knuckles he could feel the prickle of short hairs starting to grow.

“Hey!” Levi shoved him playfully. “Why?”

Looking up at the sky, Erwin thought of the girl he had left behind in his village, “When an earth nationer wants to woo a lady, he finds the best gemstone he can afford to impress her.”

“Really?” Levi seemed intrigued, “What, so he buys it? Or digs it out of the ground himself?”

“Usually they buy one, but one that they earth bend out themselves is considered to be of higher worth. It’s rare for earth benders to be able to find gems like you though, and even then a proper jeweler would be needed to cut it until it shone and could be given to anyone as an enticement.”

“Oh,” Levi seemed to find this fascinating. “So if I want to marry an earth bender, I should find a big diamond?”

“Yep.”

“Hey, look!” Excitedly, Levi pointed and tugged Erwin’s clothes. “Is that Omashu?”

Squinting in the sun, Erwin couldn’t see anything yet. Stamping his foot, he waited to feel for the tell-tale vibrations that a city of people produced as they went about their day. There was a faint rumbling of feet, and Erwin looked at Levi and grinned. “Yes, can you see it?”

“Yea, it’s like four pyramids? Way off in the distance.”

Launching himself forward with his earth bending, Erwin gave himself the brief head start he needed to in any way compete with Levi’s speed, “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

Covering several miles of ground rather rapidly, Erwin finally began to catch sight of the huge city. Stopping short of the winding path that led to the entrance of Omashu, Erwin looked around to catch his breath and see where his charge had gone.

“Boo,”

“Argh!” Erwin jumped as Levi leapt out at him from behind a rock. “Come on, you.”

Side by side, they walked the final few hundred metres to the entrance of the great city. After introducing himself as Erwin, son of the last Avatar and demonstrating some earth bending, the guards at the gateway allowed them both passage. One smiled at Levi and patted his head, and the boy forced out a giant, fake smile.

“What is it with people and patting my fucking head?” Levi grumbled under his breath once they were inside.

Patting it himself, Erwin grinned at Levi’s expression, “It’s because it’s so bald and shiny. It’s hard to resist.”

The boy looked Erwin up and down for a moment.

“What?” Erwin looked down, expecting to see something wrong.

“You gotta take all that shit off,” Levi plucked at the pins and jewels. “You are a sitting duck for a pickpocket if you flounce around like a fucking lord.”

“What did we say about language, Levi?” Erwin chastised as he removed the gold from his outer person. He still jingled as he walked, but at least he blended in with the crowd a bit more.

 _I need to reinforce my pockets_ , he thought as they weaved their way through the city. It was getting dark, and Erwin ached to have a proper bed to lie in. Asking around, they soon found themselves in front of one of the nicer inns in Omashu.

“It looks fancy,” Levi remarked, staring up at the brightly lit building.

“Let me do the talking.” Erwin opened the door and turned to him, “But if you need to speak, remember to-“

“-to not swear,” the boy drawled, looking unimpressed at Erwin’s prudishness when it came to his colourful use of slum language.

“-remember to pretend to be Leah.” Erwin smirked. 

“Oh, yeah.”

On making enquiries, the innkeeper appeared, and his eyes flicked up and down the pair, clearly unconvinced that they could afford to stay in his fine establishment. Erwin had to admit, they were both looking pretty shabby. Their clothes were dusty, and Levi still had no shoes. They probably didn’t look as if they had any money to speak of. The man’s demeanor changed completely once Erwin held out one of the coins from the treasure trove for the man to take.

Eyes wide, the innkeeper almost snatched it in his haste to test its give, “Is that real gold?”

“It is,” Erwin smirked, sensing the man’s attitude towards them was about to change dramatically.

The innkeeper bit into it, leaving a slight dent in the metal. Astonished, he silently gestured for the two to follow him upstairs, staring down at the coin the entire time.

“You’re gonna give him the whole thing?” Levi whispered incredulously. The coin was definitely worth more than bed and board at this middling Inn. "Hasn't the earth kingdom ever heard of a thing called bartering?" 

He shrugged nonchalantly, “It’s not as if we’re ever going to be short of money with the way you find things.”

“No. I guess we won’t." He gave Erwin the side eye, "Remind me not to give any of the really nice stuff in future, though.”

“This will be your room,” the innkeeper opened a rickety door and ushered them into a comfortable looking room.

“A real bed?” Levi’s eyes were wide as he took in the two double beds. “Erwin! They’re both huge! Look at the size of them, Erwin.” He took in the room, smoothing a finger over surfaces to look for dust.

The innkeep’s wife appeared, and the motherly woman asked the boy, “Would you like a warming pan?”

“Umm, I don’t know.” It was apparent that Levi didn’t know exactly what such a thing was. He looked to Erwin to make the decision for him.

He nodded, “I think we both will. It’s a chilly night. And hot water for a bath, please.”

Once the couple left, the two boys looked at each other before launching themselves onto the two beds and grinning. Erwin fired one of his pillows at the air bender, who caught it with ease and declared it now his own.

A great half-barrel tub was hauled upstairs and filled with hot water. Erwin undressed and, throwing a towel over one shoulder, began to lather soap in the water. “You first, kiddo.”

Crouching in the corner of the room as far away from the bath as he could get, Levi shook his head with vigour, “I’m alright. I don’t like getting wet.” He still hadn’t taken off his Kyoshi Warrior uniform.

“But it’s warm now, and you need to wash. Otherwise you’ll get a reputation as the dirtiest avatar who ever lived and I’m sure you don’t want that.”

Erwin’s teasing worked, but Levi still looked deeply unhappy as he was set into the water that reached up to his skinny shoulders. Erwin snorted out a laugh at his grumpy expression and downturned little frown.

“Now really, it’s not _so_ bad, Levi.” He scrubbed behind the boys ears, taking his time to fuss over him. “I’m going to get us some food after this. Do you want to remain vegetarian? Or would you like to try some meat and dairy? Earth benders aren’t really used to subsisting on only greens, but I’ll see what I can find.”

Gripping the edge of the barrel tightly as though afraid he would drown, Levi tried to consider the question, “I don’t know.” The boy chewed the inside of his lip. “I can’t really remember what they taste like, but I’ll give it a try.”

“How about we start with dairy?” Under his hands he felt Levi shrug, ““I’ll ask for something with eggs and cheese if you’d like? And greens too.”

“And bread,” he tilted his head to look at Erwin questioningly. “And butter?”

“If you like.” It was sweet how small the things were that Levi looked for. This wasn’t a child who demanded anything, really. He just wanted to please; it spoke to Erwin of how little affection he had experienced in his short life, and he was determined to rectify that at any cost.

The barrel was too high for Levi to climb out of without making a mess. He reached up his arms to allow Erwin to pull him out, then sat beside the fire to dry in his huge towel, looking much happier by the flames than he had in the water.

Now it was his turn. Having been sure that the water would be cool at this point, Erwin was pleasantly surprised when he slipped in, noting that it felt even hotter than it had been when it was first brought up. He shrugged off the thought, assuming he was just chilly. Sighing, he let the water come up to his chin, happy to luxuriate and get rid of the dust accumulating in his hair. Even when he blew his nose it was filled with the red dust of the desert they were approaching. Closing his eyes and enjoying the therapy of the warm water, Erwin noticed that the room seemed to be darkening occasionally and wondered if he were falling asleep. Opening his eyes, he glanced over at the source of the light, and watched with wordless shock as the fire in front of him one moment grew large and bright, and the next seemed to almost vanish completely. On the rug in front of it, Levi seemed to be doing breathing exercises; as he did, the strength of the fire waxed and waned. At one point he held his breath, and the fire died completely in its grate.

“Oops.” He looked around at Erwin, “It needs air to live,” he explained. “Like all life does.”

Taking a second to compose himself, Erwin asked quietly into the darkness, “Do you think you could do that to stop a fire bender using fire?”

Thinking for a while, Levi nodded, “I think so. I’ve never tried it.”

“Can you relight the fire?”

“Only if there are embers.” He blew gently on the fire, but apart from glowing slightly it failed to relight. “You do it. You’re good at it.”

“I’ll do it once I get out. Can you fire bend at all?” It didn’t seem so unlikely that he could; after all he was a natural at air bending, and Erwin suspected he would be a talented earth bender too one day, unusual considering it was his opposing element and should be the hardest for the young avatar to master.

Levi seemed to freeze. “I don’t know.”

Erwin sighed, realising he had rather dug himself a hole with his repeated proclamations of his dislike of fire bending, and had probably made Levi feel ashamed of something that was ultimately part of him. “I know I’ve said that I dislike the fire nation, but as the avatar you will need to master fire bending one day. Unlike the fire benders I have met so far, I know you will endeavour to use it responsibly and only use it to bring light into the world. After all, your name means ‘My light shines’, does it not?”

“Yes. And I will,” the boy promised, his eyes determined. “I’ll make you proud of me.”

“I am already immeasurably proud of you,” he reassured.

Once dried and dressed, he headed downstairs in his still rather dusty pants to inform them they were done and to order some hot food. The barrel was hauled downstairs and the innkeeper offered to launder their clothes.

Levi looked dubiously at him, “Do you have good quality soap? Soap for clothes, not for people?”

“Yes,” the man looked affronted by the question.

“And will you hang them up so they don’t wrinkle?”

“I will ask the maid to iron them for you,”

Reluctantly, Levi handed over his clothes. The two now only had old pairs of pants on, and Erwin decided it was best for them to eat in their room rather than cause offense by sauntering down to eat half-dressed in the main dining area. When the food arrived, Levi tore into it as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Putting a finger in his mouth to wet it, Levi made sure to get every last crumb of bread that had landed on the table after he had ripped the bread apart in his haste to eat it.

“Oh my! I’ve never seen anyone enjoy our cooking so much,” the cook gushed as he retrieved the plate, now empty after less than a minute. “I’ll get you some more.”

“Me too!” Erwin passed him his, having not realised just how starving he was.

Two rounds later, Erwin practically collapsed onto the bed, groaning with how tight his stomach felt. “This must be what it feels like to be pregnant,” he groaned.

“I think I ate too much,” Levi gave a matching groan, lying on his side and curling up into a ball. He looked as if he were about to fall asleep without even getting under the blanket.

The air bender apparently wasn’t used to being tucked in as Erwin had been as a small boy; it didn’t sound like Kenny was the paternal sort. Even at the air bending temples, Erwin doubted Levi had recieved much in the way of tender care. The children slept in dorms and were ordered to bed by older monks and expected to sort themselves out; they were being trained to be wise and detached, and were certainly not mollycoddled. For all the wisdom of the air nomads, Erwin couldn't help but feel that their discouragement of physical affection between people left children such as Levi touch-starved and hungry for any kindness they could get from an adult figure. It left them vulnerable to abuse and manipulation. 

The temperature of the room was rapidly falling. If Levi stayed above the blanket, doubtless he would get cold in the night. Getting up with some effort, Erwin walked to his bedside and lifted him up, pulling back the cover and tucking him in. Without realising it, he had begun humming an old lullaby his father used to sing to him at night, one that he had come up with especially for his son. Like some strange enchantment it would never fail to work when Erwin was a child, and he was always asleep long before the end. Watchful grey eyes regarded him sleepily as he sang, and as Levi drifted off he joined in the song, finishing the final verse for Erwin before sighing contentedly and giving a small snore. Erwin listened with breathless wonder. He was sure that Levi could categorically never have heard that song before. But then….

Placing a hand on the little head, Erwin felt his throat constrict. This really was his father reincarnate. Sometimes the idea seemed just too impossible to be real. When his father lived, to Erwin he had been special and unique. He had never really considered how his father was also one of many in a long line of rebirth. And now the world had Levi, who was a wholly different person altogether too, and yet at the same time was one with all of those great spirits who had come before.

Placing a kiss on the boy’s temple and giving him a nuzzle, Erwin sighed and smiled. Then he stood and made him way back into his own bed, warm from the pan of hot coals placed in it earlier by the maid.

Some hours later, he awoke shivering. The effect of the warming pan had long worn off, and Erwin tried curling up into a ball as Levi had done to retain any heat close to himself. His feet felt like blocks of ice. As they approached the desert, the days were growing hotter and the nights colder, something he had been used to all his life. They would need to get Levi some shoes so that he didn’t burn his feet during the day on the hot sand and then get frostbitten toes at night.

His teeth began to chatter loudly, then without warning, Erwin felt the edge of the blanket lift, and a warm little body sidled in alongside him.

“I’m cold,” Levi explained, fitting himself in against Erwin’s belly and instantly heating up the bed, his doll in his arms between them.

Wrapping his arms around the child, Erwin gave a kiss onto his little head, “How are you so warm? You’re like a little tiny furnace.”

Snuggling into him, Levi gave an almost-inaudible, happy little sigh, “Before I existed, Mom said that she used to have to wear loads of layers of clothes to stay warm, but that once she got pregnant with me, she never got cold, not even on the chilliest winter nights. I kept her warm on the inside and she ended up being sweaty all the time.”

As they warmed up, they chatted for a while. About Kyoshi Island and earth bending, about places they would visit on their way north and about the adventures they would have together all across the world.

"Tell me about your father," Levi implored, greedy for stories about his predecessor.

Never able to resist speaking to people about his hero, Erwin gladly talked about the kindest, cleverest man he had ever known. Sometimes people would get bored hearing Erwin's tales, but Levi stared up at him with glimmering, fascinated eyes long into the night. The boy had questions; so many questions about this man who he had once been and who Erwin so greatly esteemed. Finally, as Erwin's yawns grew larger, and closer and closer, eventually their talking ceased and Levi gave an endearing little snore. The cosiness of the tiny ball in his arms soon stopped Erwin’s shivering, and before he knew it he was unfightably drowsy. Tucking his chin over the crown of Levi’s head, Erwin smiled and succumbed to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was a thing.
> 
> Let me know if this is worth continuing, or whether it should be trashed and burned, and then we shall never speak of it again!!!
> 
> If anyone is interested in having a soundtrack in their head, then this is for the Avatar state in this chapter.:  
> https://youtu.be/6N9SS6L0TDU
> 
> And this is whenever Levi fights:  
> https://youtu.be/kYX1XEVvvXU


End file.
